Giving Back

Postpartum depression effects 5% to 25% of women after childbirth. I have a sneaking suspicion that the rate is much higher than that, because so many of us never address the issue in hopes that the problem will just go away.

I had your typical baby blues after my first two bundles of joy arrived. With the love and support of an amazing husband I made it through. After the birth of my third child, a beautiful little boy we named Otto, I was diagnosed with postpartum depression.

This time love alone wasn’t going to get me through the struggle to just get through day to day life. My camera saved me. Counseling, the love and support of friends and family, all these things helped. But I found that taking pictures was a way to document how I was really feeling inside. And it was a way to lock away my children in a time capsule. I look back at the pictures taken at my lowest points and can’t remember a lot of those days. I’m so glad my shutter caught those moments for me.

So as a way to say we’re all in this together, I’ve made the decision to donate a portion of my proceeds from any photography related income each month to Postpartum Support International. They were the first place I turned to when I knew I needed help and are reaching women out there everywhere who were just like me.

If you’d like more information their site is an excellent source of information. And to find hope in the art of photography this is where I go to often for inspiration.

If you think you may be in need of help, please remember that there’s free help out there regardless of your income. I went to my local department for mental health and didn’t pay a single dime for any counseling I received.

Maybe someday I will be blessed enough financially to gift every mother I encounter who is suffering from postpartum depression a camera to pour their emotions into. But until then, I feel like this is the least I can do.

xoxo, Vanessa

Giving Back

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