For the past almost 4 years, I have been so honored to be an ambassador for Every Mother Counts and now I am SO excited to be heading to California to run Big Sur Marathon while raising funds for a foundation I hold so very close to my heart, especially because of their concern and focus on 4th trimester health care for mother’s everywhere.
“Every mother has a story. It’s our job at Every Mother Counts to make sure that these stories are documented and shared widely so that others will learn from them and one day, these tragedies will be stories of the past. “
When I was pregnant with Ellie, I ran the Buffalo marathon 20 weeks pregnant. To bring it all full circle, I decided to go back to Buffalo and run the Buffalo Half 7 months PP – that was the first time I ran for Every Mother Counts, as a new mom, and it made that run that much more meaningful.
After losing my dear friend Kristin just 2 weeks after that Buffalo Half, in June 2017, while having similar struggles with postpartum depression, Kristin gave me the courage to open up about my own mental health and now, I continue to honor Kristin and spread awareness for Postpartum Depression the best way I know how – through running.
Click here for more of my [PPD] story...
Maternal mental health issues, such as postpartum depression, is a real issue where 1.3 million mothers in the U.S. are affected each year with more than 3 million US cases per year. Sadly, suicide is one of the leading causes of death among new moms.
Now, these 26.2 are not only for my 10th marathon but will most importantly help continue to spread awareness and for women to find the help they need with ease. I have made raising awareness and funds to support maternal health around the world a big part of my everyday life. Be the change we want to see, right?
Since 2011, the EMC running program has helped raise over $2.2 million and since 2012, Every Mother Counts has provided over $3 million in grants and have directly and impacted over 540,000 lives. (89 cents of every dollar raised is invested into programs that support EMC's mission to make pregnancy and childbirth safe for every mother.)
Every donation helps -- $5 is enough to provide transportation to a safe birth facility for a pregnant woman in Uganda so she doesn't have to walk. We run because often distance is the biggest barrier to a woman and her family getting the care they need. Simply put, we want to run so that others don't have to.
