POSTPARTUM MAMA
STORIES
JACKIE GROTH
PPM Wiregrass Zoom Facilitator
Laramie, Wyoming
I am Jackie. I live in Port Orchard, WA. I am a wife, a new mom of one, and dog mom of two. I am so blessed to be on this motherhood journey.
A little bit about my motherhood journey and why Postpartum Mamas is so important to me:
Back in the fall of 2018 I found out I was pregnant. My husband and I were ecstatic. I went to my first prenatal appointment and found out our baby didn’t have a heartbeat. We were devastated. After about a month or so we started trying again and nothing was happening. Finally, in March 2019, my doctor wanted to test me for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), I was waiting to go in for my second blood draw when I decided to take a pregnancy test...it was positive. I was in complete shock. Very over the moon happy but in complete shock, I did not think we were ever going to get pregnant. We were so excited for our rainbow baby, but every time I had a doctor’s appointment, I got the worst anxiety. Another appointment meant we had to find and listen to the heartbeat. Anytime the doctor put the Doppler on my stomach I stopped breathing, waiting for the bad news, it never came. Pregnancy after loss is so hard. I was waiting for bad news constantly. But in December our sweet baby girl came early. We are so blessed to have our miracle.
Postpartum Mamas is so important to me because it has given me a place to share my story. It is a space that women can come together and relate to each other and express how they are feeling, their fears, their hopes and dreams and feel validated and heard. It is a place where we can all support each other and know other women have/are experiencing similar things. It is a place to be uplifted. I am so blessed and honored to get the opportunity to help women to not feel so alone. After PPM Support groups, it feels like there is a weight lifted off of your shoulders.
BECKY BARD
Former Member
Becky was born and raised in Washington State. She and her husband have two young daughters and a fur baby, Berkley the Beagle. Becky loves overcast days, exploring new parks, and being the oldest sister of three. As a young girl, Becky always gravitated towards community and longed for a large family. Growing up she woke many mornings to the sight of baby foals taking their first steps and found herself in awe of the strength and endurance of the horses during birth.
With a husband in the United States Airforce starting a family meant that there was a chance Becky’s husband may not be able to be present for her own children’s births. For this reason, Becky hired a birth doula and when her first daughter was born, she was able to have what she considers one of the most empowering days of her life. A year after her daughter was born, she completed a Birth Doula workshop and started her own Birth Doula business, Harbor of Hope Birth Services, in Kitsap County, Washington.
As empowered as Becky felt during her births, she found that as a society we were lacking support in the postpartum period. She found limited support groups and felt a sense of isolation and sadness after both of her daughters’ births. After being introduced to Postpartum Mamas, Becky found the support and community she had been missing.
Becky is a DONA International Trained Doula, a Certified Birth, Postpartum, and Bereavement Doula with Still Birthday University, and a trained Hypnobabies Doula. She looks forward to growing with Postpartum Mamas and using her expertise in the birth worker field to serve others.
JORDAN BARERRA
Former Member
My postpartum story. I have 4 children. I never have experienced postpartum depression before, until my last baby. Everything was going well for about two weeks, then that's when my hormones did their crazy thing they do and I started to not feel like myself. Come to find out, this is what PPD is. I felt like I was in over my head. I could never keep the home clean enough, I felt like the whole weight of the world was crashing down on me and I couldn't get anything done, then there was the thought of going to the store, oh no, how could I do that? I have 4 kids! (Thank goodness for pick-up)
I started having panic attacks that put me in urgent care because I thought I was actually having a heart attack. It was so weird because I have never struggled with that before... (again that's the PPD talking.)
I decided to get help ASAP. Don't be afraid to say you don't have it all together. I was given some Anti-depressants and sent on my way. They made me feel very odd, I switched and found something else. It really helped to level out my hormones and I'm so grateful to feel like me again. I recently went off of them and feeling back to normal. I feel like I can conquer any challenge sent my way without feeling in over my head. I have also found my groove. Once you figure that out, it all goes way more smoothly. :)
PPM has given me a space to share my story, to know that I am not alone. No one knows how hard depression is until they have experienced it. A lot of times moms do not know that they need help. Until they around others that have been through the same thing as you.
When you leave Postpartum Mamas, you feel really refreshed like you have filled up your cup, because most of the time we are filling up our kids cups, literally and figuratively. I am feeling so much better on my mental health journey and I believe it is Postpartum Mamas that has contributed to this healing and being able to be with everyone that has been through the exact same thing, has been really helpful.
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