Christina is from a rural town in Missouri where she lives with her husband and eleven-year-old son. When her son was six days old, Christina experienced a mental health crisis when she was overcome with postpartum psychosis. Following a week stay in the hospital, Christina also experienced severe postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety, which led to two more hospital stays before she stabilized. Christina is a very passionate maternal mental health advocate and believes that shared experiences not only give hope to those currently struggling, but also provides invaluable insight to healt ..read more

HEALING CIRCLE COUNSELING THE LOVE LANGUAGE QUIZ WHAT ARE THE 5 LOVE LANGUAGES ..read more

Valerie Lynn is one of the leading New Motherhood Experts in the United States. She resided in Asia for 16 years with 12 years spent in Malaysia. Valerie, known as The Mommy Planner, has been a major force in introducing and modernizing traditional after birth recovery practices, more specifically the Malay traditions, and treatments to women globally. She researched wrote and published her first book, The Mommy Plan, in Malaysia through the Malaysian Ministry of Health, Traditional Complementary Medicine department where she conducted interviews in hospitals and in the field. Her subsequent ..read more

In 2017, after a round-the-world trip, Chiara and her husband moved to Portland, OR, to start a family. They became parents in summer 2019. She didn’t like being pregnant. She never got the pregnancy glow many women talk about. What she got, instead, was morning sickness for the first three months and acid reflux throughout the pregnancy. Her delivery was traumatic. The c-section was her worst-case scenario, which did indeed happen after four hours pushing because her son’s head got stuck. She could keep it together during the surgery, but had a panic attack right after. Her husband took time ..read more

Samantha is the mom of three kiddos. After the birth of her first son and again during the pregnancy with her second, she was riddled with anxiety, fear, obsessive and intrusive thoughts about any and all forms of harm coming to her children. Samantha began attending a newly formed PMAD support group and shortly thereafter became one of the groups facilitators. She is passionate about helping others not feel alone in navigating this journey and providing the best resources possible ..read more

Courtney Ginder resides in Fishers, Indiana with her husband and daughter. She is a passionate maternal mental health advocate after surviving postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter during the COVID-19 pandemic, and believes deeply in the power of sharing stories to let others know they are not alone. She blogs at beyondpostpartumdepression.com and can be found on Instagram and Facebook at @beyondppd. In addition to blogging, she is also the co-leader for the Hamilton County, Indiana Climb Out of the Darkness event, raising awareness and over $10,000 for families impacted by pe ..read more

Jenny Petrucci lives in Rome. She had her son in 2019, just before the COVID lockdown and suffered with severe postpartum depression. She’s now pregnant with her daughter, due February 2022, and searching for support in Italy. She reached out desperate to share her story for the very first time publicly ..read more

Linda Zaffram received her Master of Social Work degree in 2002 from Virginia Commonwealth University. She works in Richmond, VA as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has spent 15+ years developing community outreach programs as well as program development and coordination in non-profit, government and the private sector. She developed a mental health program where she was the program manager, supervisor and clinician for the program that served adults who were indigent and underserved. She serves as field instructor and mentor for Master's level social work students through Virginia Commo ..read more

Michelle Wiersgalla, MD is a reproductive psychiatrist and psychopharmacology consultant. She attended college and medical school at the University of Wisconsin and did her psychiatry residency at the Harvard Longwood Program. Michelle has repeatedly been recognized as a Top Doctor in psychiatry. She has been a featured speaker at local and national conferences on the topics of perinatal mental health and psychopharmacological approaches to treatment. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and two daughters. MYSELF AGAIN: The PARENTS Postpartum Survival Guide ..read more

Gabrielle Mauren, PhD, LP, PMH-C is a licensed psychologist and the lead of an award-winning (for innovation in clinical care) reproductive mental health program, which has a focus on helping parents who are struggling with mental health concerns related to pregnancy, postpartum, fertility issues and pregnancy loss.  She is certified in perinatal mental health care.   Dr. Mauren completed her undergraduate studies, graduate training, and postgraduate fellowship at the University of Iowa, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Pennsylvania, respec ..read more