Pacific Post Partum Support Society

Pacific Post Partum Support Society has been supporting mothers and their families experiencing postpartum/perinatal distress, depression and anxiety since 1971. The program started in 1971 as a grass roots initiative when a small group of women began meeting at the Vancouver Crisis Line office to share their experiences and support each other around postpartum issues. This established the pattern for our treatment model: mothers supporting mothers. This was a new approach to addressing the issues of postpartum depression and one that has since influenced changes in postpartum support. Over the years, our programs have developed based on the needs of those we serve. Today we reach out to approximately 3,500 mothers and families each year. Statement of Belief 1. We believe that postpartum depression is a multidimensional problem with social factors such as isolation, poverty, lack of childcare and the stressful nature of mothering playing important roles. 2. We believe that through mutual aid and emotional support, women are empowered to engineer their own recovery and to learn skills of self-care, which encourage healthy life choices for themselves and their families. 3. We believe that it is healing for a woman with postpartum depression to share her experiences, in confidence, and to receive non-judgemental support and understanding from other women who have resolved, or who are in the process of resolving, their own depression.