When babies come into the world, they bring joy and responsibility.
But for some mothers, they can bring on a whole new range of complicated emotions.
“I think that’s one of the most common things moms share,” said Danielle Cauley, a licensed professional therapist and the Williamsburg coordinator for Postpartum Support Virginia. “You have this baby and people say, ‘isn’t she amazing, isn’t being a mother so great?’ A lot of women will just say they love it but they’re not really feeling that way.”
When Cauley had her daughter in February 2016, she found herself struggling with depression and anxiety and had a difficult time finding resources in the area that could help her. Eventually she found the Postpartum Depression Support group, but she said it wasn’t well-known or heavily resourced at the time.
“I’m a licensed therapist and even I didn’t find the area support group easily,” she said. “I can’t imagine what any mom would experience in such a vulnerable time.”
But in 2017, a group called Postpartum Support Virginia reached out and made the group one of its pilot coalitions.
Postpartum Support Virginia is a nonprofit founded in Northern Virginia by Adrienne Griffen as a resource for women and their families who are experiencing anxiety, depression, or other perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, according to the organization’s website.
Cauley said in 2017 the organization looked to move outside of Northern Virginia and reached out to the Williamsburg support group to be one of the first coalitions.
After that, Cauley said she stepped up to lead the coalition because she realized there could be even more support and resources for women like herself. For the first six months, Cauley met with various therapists, OBGYN doctors, and other organizations that help new mothers in order to gather resources and make more women aware of the group.
One of the biggest changes, she said, was changing the name from Postpartum Depression Support Group to Postpartum Support Group Williamsburg.
“I think there’s a lack of education when people hear postpartum depression they hear of [extreme] cases,” she said. “So people are thinking postpartum depression equals a mom wants to hurt their babies, but that’s rare. It’s a spectrum.”
During the group meetings, Cauley said the first thing volunteers and counselors work on is normalizing the condition.
“We say ‘it is scary, you’re going to get help and feel better. You’ll be yourself again,” she said.
The group has since broken up into two separate sessions with approximately five women in each.
Cauley said she realizes the groups are small, but compared to the organization’s other coalitions across the state, it’s about average. However, she said, at the Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center there are about 1,000 babies born each year which means there are around 200 women probably experiencing symptoms of postpartum depression.
While she said she knows the group will never reach all 200 women, she hopes to keep expanding it and make mothers know the resource is available to them. This year, the group has started creating flyers that will be posted at daycare facilities, pediatrician offices and other locations mothers might frequent. Additionally, the group will start reaching women more through social media campaigns, she said.
“We want to reach moms out there in the ways they live their lives,” Cauley said. “We know they’re out there and we want to help.”
