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Happy as a Mother

Teaching moms the art of not losing it, so they can feel more proud and confident.

Founder: Erica Djossa

Website: https://happyasamother.co/ (external link, opens in new window) 

Happy as a Mother is a Maternal mental Health (MMH) platform that leverages technology to make maternal mental health care accessible to Canadian mothers. Happy as a Mother offers resources to mothers through a podcast, daily educational Instagram posts, virtual workshops and teletherapy. 

We are in a maternal mental health crisis. 

Postpartum depression was being self-reported as moderate to high by 15% of mothers pre-pandemic and is now being reported by 40% of mothers. *

Postpartum anxiety was being self-reported as moderate to high by 27% of mothers before the pandemic and is now being reported by a staggering 72% of mothers. *

Pre-pandemic roughly 50% of mothers went undiagnosed and untreated for their perinatal mental health concerns– in addition, the pandemic drastically reduced their access to care. 

Prolonged experiences of anxiety, depression or other mood disorders have acute and long-term consequences for the psychological and physical health of both mom and baby. 

Specialized care in the form of assessment, diagnosis, and treatment (both psychotherapy and pharmaceuticals) remains the gold standard of care with 80% efficiency when diagnosed and treated effectively.  Without specialized care, women end up receiving generalized healthcare services that can often do more harm than good when not specifically trained to work with this population, doing things like pulling mothers from all their mental health medication upon learning they are pregnant. 

Happy as a Mother aims to put MMH care in the pockets of all Canadians. We will continue to build out an interdisciplinary team to support mom's mental health in her adjustment to motherhood so that both mom and baby can be well. 

Our services are teletherapy-based and easily accessible by those who can't access specialized support due to location and will disrupt the previous referral system for accessing care.