My Journey

My motherhood journey began three years ago when my husband and I decided to start our family. Being the control freak that I am, I immediately wanted to know everything I could about becoming a mom. As a digital health product manager, I know the value of digital health apps so I signed up for all the best ones. I felt so well supported by these apps as I tried to conceive, experienced miscarriages, and dealt with a high-risk pregnancy, that I was shocked at how alone I felt during my postpartum recovery. 

That's when I realized how little I knew about my own body’s healing process after childbirth and about how much having a baby would change me. My resources had given me ample information on what to expect during pregnancy, labour, and childbirth and what to expect with a newborn after birth, but nothing talked about MY recovery and mental health during the postpartum period.

The unspoken realities that followed childbirth were overwhelming and hard to overcome. My postpartum experience included: a respiratory infection, UTI, double mastitis, breastfeeding complications, perineal tearing, hemorrhoids, uterine prolapse, diastasis recti, postpartum pre-eclampsia, and baby blues turned crippling postpartum anxiety. I realize now that much of I was experiencing was “normal” especially as a first-time mom, but at the time I felt like I was going through it all alone. 

As I continued my postpartum journey, I experienced many other frustrations trying to access the care I needed - long wait times, service providers not trained in maternal mental health, and difficulty advocating for myself in care discussions, to name a few.

I realized that something was missing from my journey - a trusted space where I could get the support I needed when I needed it most. I wanted a place to connect with trusted information and other moms who understood what I was going through. Where I could share my feelings and experiences without judgment or shame. Where I could find resources focused on postpartum health and access to postpartum care from providers specialized in maternal health. And so I created Willa Health, so no mom would have to struggle alone without access to the knowledge, support, and care they deserve on their postpartum journey.

My goal is for Willa Health to provide a safe and trusted space for moms to connect with resources and other moms for support. We are a movement to shatter the silence and stigma around postpartum health and to empower moms to take charge of their health and wellbeing.

Join me and other moms who are ready to talk, listen, and heal together.

Talk soon // Sam - Founder, Willa Health