MILWAUKEE — As a young Milwaukee mother, Rayona Howled said she knows firsthand the challenges of navigating new motherhood.
The 22-year-old said she faced a traumatic birth experience, leaving her feeling unheard and unsupported.
“I had sort of a traumatic birthing experience, like I don’t feel like I was heard or cared for like I should have been,” said Howled.
Howled said the feeling only got worse in the weeks and months that followed.
“It was bad,” said Howled. “I was just like crying uncontrollably nonstop, like I couldn’t get out of bed. I couldn’t eat, like my mom was primarily taking care of [my son] at the time, because I couldn’t do it.”
Howled was diagnosed with postpartum depression, a condition affecting one in five women, according to Moms Mental Health Initiative.
She said with medication and the help of the Moms Mental Health Initiative, she began to heal.
“I started posting in the group,” said Howled. “They have outings that they do and it really made me feel involved. I didn’t feel so alone because I didn’t know what postpartum depression was and nobody in my family had it.”
Sarah Bloomquist is the co-founder and executive director of Moms Mental Health Initiative. She said she understands Howled’s struggle.
A two-time survivor of postpartum depression herself, Bloomquist said the program offers support and education for mothers who are struggling.
“Often times, when they reach out, they cannot wait any longer for help,” said Bloomquist. “We urgently try to get them that treatment and when they get that right treatment, they do recover. It can take months, a year, even more, to really feel like yourself after suffering such a devastating condition, but we see so many women find the hope and healing and be able to support others then who are in the process.”
Founded in 2016, the Moms Mental Health Initiative has served over a thousand mothers in the Milwaukee area.
“If I knew what I knew then, now, I would have been like, ‘I should have washed her hair, I should have held her baby, I should have asked her how she was mentally’ because the first thing people do is run to the baby, but what about the mom?” asked Howled. “What about us? And… now I have a heart for that.”
Howled’s experience has become her mission.
“It’s truly changed my life like I couldn’t tell you what I’d do if I didn’t have it,” said Howled. “I don’t think, maybe I would still have came out of it, but I wouldn’t have had the motivation to help other women now.”