[Editor’s Note: Today’s guest post comes from Tabitha Grassmid. She was a friend and in the same postpartum support group as a mom who recently died due to suicide during her battle with postpartum mood and anxiety disorders. -Jenna]

I'm Ready to Do Battle: Moving Forward After a Maternal Suicide -postpartumprogress.com

Since the tragic loss of Sasha, I have been doing a lot of soul searching. For two years, I would see Sasha and her three-year-old daughter, Ember, walk into our support group every week. For two years, I have seen what an amazing mother she is. For two years, I have watched her ups and downs, her battle with psychosis. The most important things I learned about Sasha was that she loved her children, and she was amazingly strong.

In Grand Rapids, we have some of the best postpartum depression care in the country. My work with Postpartum Progress lets me tell everyone how great things are here and get women all over the same help we have.

The last few days have been a struggle for me. I have been so convinced that I was meant to help struggling moms; it’s my passion, my purpose.

Then Sasha took her life. All the support, the best care in the country, was not enough to save Sasha.

How do I keep going? How do I open my heart up to another mom?

But here is the truth, we do have amazing care here. Sasha had all the resources in the world right here. Maybe we did fail Sasha. Maybe there was more we could have done. Maybe her death is a lesson. There are things we can do better, more resources that can be added so that we don’t fail another mom.

If I stop, if our community stops, we are not reaching thousands of moms who need us.

So this is the point where I push harder.

This is the point where I run full speed. My dream is we don’t lose one more life to this disease. So I will continue my work helping moms suffering from postpartum depression. In fact I will be leading the brigade. I have my armor on; I’m ready to do battle.

– Tabitha Grassmid

Here are some resources in Grand Rapids: