“Shame focuses it on the I AM. I am a bad mother. PPD makes you question your identity. You begin to focus on the I—how terrible, and bad I am. I am unworthy. PPD attacks the narrative of who you are. ”

Anita, mother of one, learned she was a carrier for the BRCA (an abbreviation for breast cancer gene) mutation one…

Fairly felt she wasn’t living up to her role of wife and mother. She heard these words to move on and knew people were judging her for not having it together. She felt like a failure—and more importantly, a disappointment to her loving husband and child.

What struck me about Stacy’s story is how much mothers take on as the primary caregiver. She and her peers felt they had to be superwoman—the perfect mom—just like our moms were.