Weeding the Garden: Peer Support & Coaching for Perinatal Mood Disorders

05/04/2026

May is MY MONTH, people! Not just because:

🎂 It’s my b-day month

🩸The month my daughter was born (the birth that catapulted me into my birth trauma advocacy journey)

🌸 The month of Mother’s Day, and you know I am ALL about the mamas

🧠 But because it’s MATERNAL MENTAL HEALTH MONTH—and this, friends, is why I get out of bed every morning.

Because I know that the leading cause of maternal deaths in our country is mental health complications. I also know that up to 80% of maternal deaths are preventable. Moms are dying because their mental health conditions are left untreated, ignored, and minimized.

I’m just not willing to accept that this is the best we can do from new moms. So I’m here, in my little lane, showing up virtually in all 50 states & abroad to help moms:

👉 Recognize symptoms and feel safe to ask for help
👉 Locate and access specialized, skilled, and trauma-informed providers
👉 Communicate with their loved ones what they are experiencing
👉 Find the joy in motherhood that is buried under suffering, stress, and uncertainty

I became a Perinatal Mental Health Specialist because I’ve lived this — and because I know what changes when someone finally shows up for you.

This month, I want that someone to be me.

Click the link in my bio to:
💻BOOK a 1:1 peer support call with me, and
📃 DOWNLOAD resources like my Birth Trauma Recovery Roadmap

You’ve waited long enough. You are not alone. You are not to blame.

PSI Helpline | Call or text 800-944-4773
National Maternal Mental Health Hotline | Call or Text 1-833-852-6262

04/28/2026

04/24/2026

After we lost our first and only embryo from our first egg retrieval, I spiralled down into a dark place and called my clinic to ask for an urgent referral for a mental health provider who was knowledgeable about reproductive grief and trauma.

They had ONE psychiatrist. I called his office. He had a 7-week waiting list.

I knew that if I waited 7 weeks, something really bad was going to happen. So I mustered the last bit of mental energy I had and found my own therapist.

But THAT’S NOT GOOD ENOUGH. People navigating infertility DESERVE BETTER.

Up to 40% of women experiencing infertility have a psychiatric diagnosis, most often depression or anxiety. Many contemplate taking their own lives at some point during infertility treatment, because they can’t imagine living without ever having the opportunity to have the family they’ve dreamed of.

1 out of 6 people of reproductive age is impacted by infertility globally. So while you might feel lonely in this hard, unexpected season, you are definitely not alone. The millions of Americans affected by infertility deserve more than silence. We deserve our voices to be heard.

is this year’s NIAW theme. It recognizes that infertility does not look one certain way, and neither does the community it affects. National Infertility Awareness Week® 2026 amplifies the diversity of paths, identities, cultures, and families navigating infertility, reminding the world that there is no single story. In fact, we discover we are:

This week, remember that you are MORE THAN your diagnosis. And you deserve MORE THAN being left alone to suffer in silence.

RESOURCES:
https://resolve.org/
https://postpartum.net/get-help/psi-online-support-meetings/
https://nationalshare.org/
https://www.reproductivefacts.org/

And don’t forget about ME! I’m here for you, as someone who has walked, stumbled, sprinted, and fallen flat on my face along this path. I’ve been there, and I am HERE for you. If you are experiencing infertility and need mental health support, click the link in my bio to book a 1:1 peer support call with me. 100% virtual in all 50 states and abroad

04/20/2026

After we lost our first and only embryo from our first egg retrieval, I spiralled down into a dark place and called my clinic to ask for an urgent referral for a mental health provider who was knowledgeable about reproductive grief and trauma.

They had ONE psychiatrist. I called his office. He had a 7-week waiting list.

I knew that if I waited 7 weeks, something really bad was going to happen. So I mustered the last bit of mental energy I had and found my own therapist.

But THAT’S NOT GOOD ENOUGH. People navigating infertility DESERVE BETTER.

Up to 40% of women experiencing infertility have a psychiatric diagnosis, most often depression or anxiety. Many contemplate taking their own lives at some point during infertility treatment, because they can’t imagine living without ever having the opportunity to have the family they’ve dreamed of.

1 out of 6 people of reproductive age is impacted by infertility globally. So while you might feel lonely in this hard, unexpected season, you are definitely not alone. The millions of Americans affected by infertility deserve more than silence. We deserve our voices to be heard.

is this year’s NIAW theme. It recognizes that infertility does not look one certain way, and neither does the community it affects. National Infertility Awareness Week® 2026 amplifies the diversity of paths, identities, cultures, and families navigating infertility.

This week, remember that you are MORE THAN your diagnosis. And you deserve MORE THAN being left alone to suffer in silence.

RESOURCES:
https://resolve.org/
https://postpartum.net/get-help/psi-online-support-meetings/
https://nationalshare.org/
https://www.reproductivefacts.org/

And don’t forget about ✨ME✨! I’m here for you, as someone who has walked, stumbled, sprinted, and fallen flat on my face along this path. I’ve been there, and I am HERE for you. If you are experiencing infertility and need mental health support, click the link in my bio to book a 1:1 peer support call with me. 100% virtual in all 50 states and abroad 💻📲

04/17/2026

Had SUCH a lovely time today at Anderson Hospital’s Spring Rejuvenation Brunch, where community-based perinatal providers and support programs gathered to educate hospital staff and local mamas about the many fabulous humans that are out there waiting to wrap them and their families in support!

I’m so incredibly grateful to be serving moms alongside a community on incredible, strong, impressive women who have dedicated themselves and their practices to making birth and postpartum better for women 🩷✨

Thanks so much for having us !!!

.moon.counseling .to.you.doula .confidence.nutritionist

04/16/2026

The data is clear — Black mothers experience perinatal mood and anxiety disorders at higher rates, but are simultaneously LESS likely to receive adequate care.
It is a recipe for disaster created by a system that is failing them.

Last weekend, I had the privilege of kicking off by speaking at the 3rd annual Centering Joy in the Black Birthing Experience conference. And I’ll be honest — I was nervous. As a white provider, I was deeply aware of walking into a space that wasn’t mine, addressing a community whose specific experiences I have not lived. The last thing I wanted was for anyone in that room to feel like I was speaking for them, or assuming I understood something I don’t.

But here’s what I kept coming back to: my discomfort is not a reason to stay home.

Showing up in spaces where these conversations are happening — even when you’re uncertain, even when you have to sit with the discomfort of your own limitations — is part of what it means to actually serve Black mothers well. Allyship isn’t comfortable. It’s present.

My job as a peer support specialist isn’t just to hold space within my own community. It’s to work against the barriers that keep Black mothers from getting the care they deserve — the stigma, the dismissal, the chronic underdiagnosis, the loneliness of being handed a pamphlet when what you needed was someone to SEE you.

If you’re a Black mother who has felt unheard or minimized — what you’re feeling is real. You are not alone. And you deserve care that actually meets you where you are. 🤍🖤

Let’s all commit to showing up for Black birthing people, no matter what.

04/12/2026

What a fabulous day representing Momentum Lactation and being included in critical conversations about how we are going to improve maternal and infant health for Black families in our communities 🩷🤱🏾✨

04/11/2026

I’m so honored that NAMI Southwestern Illinois interviewed me about my IVF and birth story, my passion for helping mothers, and how Weeding the Garden came to be. Collaborating with other local organizations that are dedicated to improving the mental health of our community truly lights me up 🩷🪴🤰🏻✨

04/09/2026

SO excited and honored to be speaking at the 3rd annual Centering Joy in the Black Birthing Experience Conference this weekend hosted by , , and !!!

I’ll be speaking on essential breastfeeding education, the power of community-based breastfeeding support, and how mothers can reclaim agency and joy in their breastfeeding experience in a historical and cultural context that has systematically ripped that away from them.

It’s an honor to represent and community-centered breastfeeding support! 🩵🎤🤰🏻