Maternal health is something you often don’t think about until after the fact. You prepare for baby, buy everything you need (and more), and perhaps even ask family and friends to help after the baby arrives. But it is rare that much concern is given to yourself, or the questions and challenges that arrive when things get real because you are home with a new baby and lacking confidence in your new role. Being home with a baby, especially for the first time, is exciting and filled with joy. It is also overwhelming and stressful.
Whether a new mom, second-time mom or something more, there are a variety of resources available to serve you on your maternal health journey while also providing much-needed community. From mama groups that allow you to engage with others in a similar stage of life and ask questions with no judgment, to opportunities for play and prioritize fitness, finding your community is key to motherhood and confidence.
While there are many known resources available to mamas and their littles, there is also continued innovation in the maternal health space. Often times, there are needs you don’t even know you have until you’re in the middle of it. There are many providers and services that can support you as you progress through pregnancy, prepare for the arrival of your newest family member and transition into motherhood (or the role of mother to many).
Here’s a short list of organizations and resources I’ve recently discovered that are available to support moms in the various stages of motherhood and their maternal health:
- Mina is a marketplace connecting parents (and future parents) with providers of fertility through postpartum services (think doulas, midwives, lactation experts, etc.). They offer custom appointments with birth experts providing an educational, judgment-free space to get awkward (or any) questions answered, empower planning and help point people in the right direction. Think of Mina as a “birthy” best friend or family member, but without a side dish of judgment.
- Did you know that one in eight couples experience infertility? And no person or couple should have to go through that experience alone. Fruitful is a free fertility mentorship program, where those beginning their fertility journey are matched with a supportive individual who’s experienced it firsthand. It’s about support during an experience that is incredibly isolating. Because even though you feel like no one else understands, Fruitful wants you to know that someone does understand and wants to be there for you.
- Whether having your first child or fifth, one of the biggest challenges as a working parent is the limits of available maternity leave. With so much variation across organizations and of course, concerns about what your family can afford, Take 12 is a maternity leave registry that is all about providing what you need most… time. There is nothing easy about birthing a child, recovering from childbirth and raising that child. The same is true of an adoption journey. There is a period of adjustment that shouldn’t be rushed. Enter… the gift of time. Time to take care of baby. Time to take care of yourself. Time to appreciate the moments, without the guilt.
- One of the hardest parts about parenting is not having the answers. It is inevitable that you will encounter a situation in which you don’t know what to do. Whether it’s related to behavior, eating habits, sleep or something else. Sometimes, you won’t have the answers. Mighty Oaks Parenting is all about blending practical advice with deep personalized coaching in order to manifest profound, lasting change in your life as a parent. Because everyone deserves to feel like a good parent and the parent their child needs.
- As an outsider looking to support the expectant mamas and new mamas in your life, baby registries often focus on cute, yet impractical things. In the grand scheme, there is very little a new baby needs. Much Love Gifts is about providing what a new mama, and working mama, needs. These gifts and packages are focused on the needs of mama, baby and the whole family. From the tools needed for maternal health care and recovery to organized activities to keep the older siblings busy and focused, Much Love Gifts is about thoughtful gifts that a mama can actually use.
As awareness grows around the maternal health needs of expectant and new mamas, there is a need for continued innovation — for new resources and organizations to address needs we might not even know we have. The expectations of moms to do and be it all is intense. Finding ways to get the right support (at the right time) is imperative as the demands of life, and especially the demands placed on moms, only grows.
