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Raincoat Run, followed quickly by Give Day Tampa Bay, occurring simultaneously with Maternal Mental Health Week = chaotic but fantastic! Raincoat Run 5k & Family Fun RunThank you to our sponsors, Sweet Child O Mine Birth Center, April Mohnshine, LCSW, and Sunshine Health and a HUGE thank you to the volunteers and participants. We could not have done this without you! So here are some images from the Raincoat Run, and we hope you join us next year on April 28, 2019! Give Day Tampa BayWe quickly moved into GIVE DAY mode and thanks to the support of the Raincoat Run, Angela and Joanna's LulaRoe Fundraiser, and Give Day Tampa Bay, we not only spread the word about Maternal Mental Health, but also raised over $2794 this season! We landed a live spot on the WEDU broadcast and brought our friends the flamingos...  Maternal Mental Health WeekOn Monday, April 30th, Rebecca, Elizabeth, Logan, Allison, and Haddie traveled to Citrus County. Rebecca and Elizabeth were invited as panelists as the Citrus County Health Department hosted a film screening of The Dark Side of the Full Moon. (The kiddos were just for the cuteness effect) Pasco, Pinellas, and Hillsborough Counties and various cities declared Perinatal Mental Health Week with official Proclamations. Click here to read The City of Tampa's Perinatal Mental Health Week Proclamation!
If you made it this far, you are likely ready for a good rest! So are we.
But we will be ready to flock soon! Holding the umbrella, -Elizabeth
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 Hello Tampa, If you are following us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, you may have noticed that the the Flamingos are coming and you are probably wondering, "What's with the big pink birds?" While running is great for your mental and physical health, we also fully believe in the power of laughter, so for some summertime fun... the Flamingos are coming. Come June 1st, for your amazing donation of $25 and the completion of a Flocking Order, we will be glad to say thanks by migrating our flock of pink lawn flamingos to the yard you have chosen. The dwellers will then have the opportunity to make a donation as well and send the flamingos to another place to roost. Who doesn't love a good summer prank? Now if you're worried about getting flocked, don't worry we are also going to be offering Flamingo Insurance Policies. For a $20 donation, you can secure you very own Flamingo Insurance Policy that will prevent your lawn from getting flocked. (This is a great investment if you live in an HOA and/or do not want to be flocked repeatedly). So here is the scoop on Flamingo Insurance Policy. With Give Day Tampa Bay upon us. we are feeling giving ourselves. One of our #GiveDayTB18 goals is to have the most unique donations during the hours of 11 a.m. through 1 p.m. So for those hours only, Flamingo Insurance will be discounted to $15. Anyone who makes this donation during this double lunch hour will not be able to be flocked from May 1st, 2018-April 30th 2019. It is the ultimate protection from Flamingo Flocking. We will also be collecting donations and taking reservations for Flocking on May 1st. Following Give Day Tampa Bay, we will create our Flocking schedule and be sure to let you know when the Flamingo Flock you've sponsored will arrive during throughout the summer. All Flocking will be completed by July 31st. Questions? Feel free to fly them over to our in box at 7thmomproject@gmail.com As always, hold the umbrella, because you never know what might be raining down. -Rebecca  We will be honoring local Maternal Mental Health Heroes during Maternal Mental Health Week! We are asking our amazing community of moms to nominate the professional that helped you through maternal mental health issues. This can be the doula that screened and encouraged you to seek treatment, the OB that didn’t dismiss you, but offered you effective treatment, the midwife that prepared you in advance so you knew it was time to seek help, or the therapist or counselor that you received treatment from. *Nominations will be kept anonymous after submission unless the nominator requests to be mentioned.  Before I became pregnant with Allison, I took up running. I often referred to it as my therapy. Since then, and my work with mothers struggling with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, I try not to refer to my running hobby as "therapy" or make jokes about it being cheaper than a therapist. I did do these things once, but now I recognize how damaging that can be. However, running is a huge part of my self care strategies and in that it is immensely important to my mental health. We also know that exercise is important for every person's mental wellness, so yay running!
There are a few reasons I love running, and on a run last week I realized running has several similarities to motherhood. Which made me love it even more. 1. It's not easy. It makes you sweat, and breath hard. Sometimes things hurt. 2. The hardest run leaves you with the greatest level of satisfaction. 3. It is a one person sport. Yes you can say that you are racing against the other racers, but most runners I know are aiming for a PR (personal record). 4. You are measured by improvements, not "winning" 5. You can wear leggings all the time. Just in case you're not a runner, here is a little more explanation as to what I am talking about. 1. Motherhood is hard. It makes you sweat, and breath hard. Sometimes things hurt. 2. Raising kids is not easy, but after each terrible phase, you really feel like you did it. The reward of love and kisses and silly kiddos after a long hard week of parenting is so satisfying. 3. While it can be tempting to get caught up into Mommy Wars, and the increased focus on such differences, the truth is, I am the best mother for my children (and you are for yours). There is no need to compare against each other, but to simply to better than we did before. 4. There is not magic "Perfect Mom" line that we reach. Everything is fluid and some days we are just rocking the mom thing, and other days not so much. But every day we keep the kids alive is success. 5. Leggings. (and if you are a LuLaRoe wearer, check out the fundraiser Angela and JoAnna are doing to support us!) So in conclusion, I love running, as much as I love mothering. And I hope you join me for our first Raincoat Run 5K and Family Fun Run on Sunday! This Mom Wears Rainboots (and running shoes) -Elizabeth  We don rainboots and carry the umbrellas as we help others through the storms of early motherhood. We do it for the mothers, but the benefits for the children in having a healthier mom are immeasurable.
In 2015 the CDC told us 1 in 7 mothers would experience postpartum depression, thus our project became The Seventh Mom Project. We wanted to provide the safety net for that 7th mother and the name stuck. We registered it and built our brand around it. However, the new data is out and as of 2017, the CDC says 1 in 5 mothers will experience postpartum depression, for a woman of color it jumps to 1 in 3.
So what does this mean? Does this mean we are not making a difference? Does it mean that were failing? No it means that what we've been doing is working. More moms are getting screened, which was one of our goals. More moms are getting actual diagnosis which has led to more moms getting help. Midwives, OBs and other professionals, such as Doulas, Case Managers, and Lactation Counselors, are encouraging mothers to speak up when something doesn't feel right. Mothers are encouraged to be honest when completing screening tools like EDPS. Home visiting agencies are providing their staff with Mental Health First Aid training and additional educational supports and more mom-to-mom support groups are happening in Tampa Bay. All of these amazing steps are in the right direction, but the storms still rolls in. The new problem is moms are getting screened and diagnosed, but connecting to appropriate care in a timely manner is another obstacle. There's help available, but we need more volunteers and umbrella holders. Over the last 3 years we've built an amazing organization, now we've got to keep up with the demand. With this I ask that you support The Seventh Mom Project, Inc. on May 1, 2018. Give Day Tampa Bay is an annual day of giving hundreds of area non-profits will be participating in. I am appealing to you now, pledge, give, and be the one to love another mother when its needed most. For more information on our pre-Give Day Awareness Event, visit www.raincoatrun.com. If you would like to learn more about corporate giving or matching gifts, please e-mail us at 7thmomproject@gmail.com. This momma wears rainsboots! -Rebecca 
 When moms contact me, questioning their emotional roller coasters during pregnancy or during their postpartum year, I always start back at the basics. The Steps to Wellness were developed by Jane Honikman, founder of PEP and later Postpartum International. More than thirty years later, they are just as relevant to all people, especially new parents. Today I am going to review steps 7-8. Jane addresses practical support and referrals to resources. I am adding treatment as step 9. This is the step that after talking with myself or another volunteer, it is up to the mother to take upon herself. Sometimes treatment is clinical, sometimes it is not. This is for the mother to decided.
 When moms contact me, questioning their emotional roller coasters during pregnancy or during their postpartum year, I always start back at the basics. The Steps to Wellness were developed by Jane Honikman, founder of PEP and later Postpartum International. More than thirty years later, they are just as relevant to all people, especially new parents. Today I am going to review steps 4-6. Here we need to look more closely at who we can build to be our support team!
If you are a new parent, build some time for your into your life. Contact us for some nonjudgmental sharing. We can serve as emotional support, or help you open up to your loved ones for support.
Next week I will review steps 7-9. -Elizabeth  When moms contact me, questioning their emotional roller coasters during pregnancy or during their postpartum year, I always start back at the basics. The Steps to Wellness were developed by Jane Honikman, founder of PEP and later Postpartum International. More than thirty years later, they are just as relevant to all people, especially new parents. Today I am going to review the first 3 steps. They are so blatantly simple, but so often overlooked by new parents as the demands of a new little one take their toll.
If you are a new parent, and you haven't been taking the time to rest or eat, please do! It will serve you and your family well to be fed and rested.
Next week I will review steps 4-6. -Elizabeth |
Each walk is different, but we walk together, and that makes all the
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