US Surgeon General Confirms What We Already Knew: Parenting is Stressful. Here's What Moms Are Already Doing About It

Help us spread the word!

Photo by No Revisions on Unsplash

On August 28, the US Surgeon General released a new advisory — Parents Under Pressure — which left us with mixed emotions. More awareness of the difficulties of parenthood is not a bad thing, but it makes us wonder... If you haven’t considered the dangers for parents without support until now, especially since 2020, what rock have you been hiding under?

More people are talking about the stressors of parenthood¹, but saying there is a problem doesn’t help solve the problem.

The good news: mothers are already taking steps to bridge the gaps between professionals in the mental health field and moms in the thick of it.

The 2024 Mental Health and Motherhood Virtual Conference is a gathering of 12 moms who have written, spoken, and worked in the maternal health field. On October 11th, they’re sharing what we can do when the pressure cooker of parenting is too much.

Mothers, in particular, are excellent researchers but often lack the knowledge of where to look (we could argue our primary care providers are not aware either). From your first doctor appointment confirming your pregnancy and for the rest of your life, you’ve likely been bombarded with the sense that you should know “this” by now.

But where do you turn? This is a burden that you don’t need to hold, especially alone. We live in a noisy and opinionated world.

I’m inviting you to join us for a day where you won’t feel like you should “know this by now”. Instead, you’ll be able to pop in and hear about different tools for your mental health toolkit whenever you may need them.

When we go to many online resources for mental health, there is a pattern of disconnect. Unfortunately, popular and well-intentioned databases structure their websites with the assumptions that,

1. Stressed individuals know what they’re looking for

2. and they’re approaching their need for help with a full night of rest and a clear mind / schedule

In our personal experiences, this can be far from the truth. In the midnight feeding sessions during newborn stages or in the car line chaos where we wait to go from one activity to another, there is often an internal cry for help but an outward limitation of finding it.

Your kid needs a new pair of shoes before you take them to practice in three hours? No problem. You need to find mental health support, but you aren’t sure if you should click the “Stress” or “Anxiety” resource page of this website? Forget it, you think, I don’t have time for this right now.

We want to meet you with feelings of non-judgment and more compassion.

We’ve created this conference to be virtual, knowing you’ll likely pop on when you can or come back to the recordings on your own time. Or you can drop the kids at school and take this day to be a mini retreat. Whatever works!

Will you join us October 11, 2024 for some conversation? Will you help us the spread the word to moms who aren’t on this Substack newsletter?

https://www.mentalhealthmomevent.com/

Your conference organizer and founder,

Chanel Riggle

---

Did you know? All of our speakers are on Substack and want to connect with you!

Speakers For the Event:

Tanmeet Sethi, MD Amber Groomes,Ph.D. Lauren Barber Kathryn Barbash, PsyD Emma del Rey Jeannie Ewing Kaitlyn Elizabeth Krista Steele Heidi Schauster Naomi Gottlieb-Miller Kim C Dickerson, MS

Thank you to our Compassion Sponsor :

Heidi Fiedler

1. She is not a speaker at this event but you must know about

Molly Dickens, PhD

and her publication, “The Maternal Stress Project”