When we got pregnant with our first, I was working in California and traveling frequently to Europe. It was something I loved. I was blindsided by extreme and oppressive nausea. I couldn’t keep any food down and it grew harder and harder for me to get to work. I eventually quit to stay sick in the comfort of my own apartment. Once I quit, I completely lost myself. I had spent so much of my adult life identifying as my career and a blended definition of my and society’s ideals of beauty. With rapid weight gain and nowhere to prove my worth, I spiraled into a very disorienting depression.

Once I had our daughter, and some of my hormones tapered off, I came out of the fog. I realized how much I had been struggling without being able to articulate it. It was about so much more than my career, or my body. This made me wonder how many other people were struggling with only a vague understanding of why. The more I asked, the more I learned. You name it, everyone had their hurdle.

I was moved to become a better listener. So, I spent a year going through the Training and Certification courses at the Co-Active Training Institute. With that skillset I became a phone line operator for Postpartum Support International. I spoke to hundreds of people: moms, dads, grandparents, siblings, those who had had an abortion, those who had experienced loss, single parents trying to make ends meet, etc. It was one of the greatest honors of my life; to be welcomed into a hard time from a stranger in need.

When I became pregnant with our second, which was another very tough pregnancy, I learned of the term Matrescence. It was so validating to the experiences of so many, including my own. I enrolled in Dr Aurelie Athan's course on Matrescence through the Teacher’s College of Columbia. I spent a semester studying Matrescence and opening my eyes to the resources and research that’s already happening on the lives of parents.

The concept of The Den came about as a place to combine the resourcing that Postpartum Support International provides + the validation that comes from data and research + the community that we are all hungry for + a space that is beautiful and uplifting where we can be reminded of our whole selves.

We have an awesome team, and a ton of resources we are connected to. We are here for you, and we can’t wait to meet.