Unspoken Struggles of Motherhood Sparks Creation of App

I recently met an amazing mompreneur named Pam Alexis Cox, and she shared the story behind her upcoming app project with me.  She experienced a common problem amongst us moms and moms-to-be. Like many other mothers, myself included, we often go thru struggles alone, afraid to share the darkside of being a mother or trying to become a mother.  A majority of us hide this part because talking about the unspoken struggles out loud makes us fearful that we may be judged unfit or unworthy for the “mom” title. To avoid being portrayed as a bad or ungrateful mom, we showcase only the positive uplifting side of motherhood. Social media is a great platform for us to portray this half-truth persona of motherhood. We hide or downplay the negative downsides to create a more acceptable persona for society to see.  This choice often leads to an internal struggle, and moms are left navigating thru depression alone.

“I had no one to share my struggles with – the hormone pills, sperm collecting and entire process for me to have a baby was so unnatural. Then when I had postpartum depression I didn’t want to share with anyone how I was feeling for the fear of being labeled as a bad mom.  There were a few online and in-person groups that supported both issues but I was afraid to share publically. It wasn’t until I was personally connected with a mom who had went through what I had did I realize I was normal. ” Mama Mentors’ Founder, Pam Alexis Cox

This personal experience led Pam to create the app concept titled MamaMentors. It will be a safe space for moms to connect with other moms privately thru a mentoring relationship style. Moms will be connected one on one with other moms who have already walked down a similar path or is currently walking in their same shoes. Moms will be able to share stories surrounding topics such as; infertility, postpartum depression, late motherhood, raising multiples, divorce, adoption, raising special needs children, multiracial families and more. Infertility and postpartum depression rates in the United States continue to grow, and there isn’t a mainstream platform for moms to connect intimately over these unspoken stories that a vast majority of mom’s are afraid to share.

“Having suffered from infertility, IVF, debating adoption, high risk pregnancy, delivering 8 weeks early, spending 59 days in the NICU and suffering from postpartum – Mama Mentors is exactly what I could have used. It’s a journey that can be talked about but not understood unless one has walked down the same path. When I was going through all that, I felt alone and mama mentors would have helped me tremendously.”

-Nina Bitz, mother of  three year old twins Carter and Grayson

Moms and moms-to-be who feel they can benefit from the one on one mentoring can sign up thru Pam’s website MamaMentors.com. You will receive updates on progress and also receive an early invitation to test the product set to launch on Mother’s Day.  

Some features to look forward to from the App:

●    Filter: The filtering system allows women to find the right mom for their unique situation.
●    Discover: Robust profiles with personal information from real women will be displayed.
●    Request: The app will introduce women to their mentor like a friend would.
●    Share: The private messaging tool means what is shared is only between the mentee and mentor.

Pam hopes her app will be that mainstream platform where moms with similar struggles like hers and Nina’s can connect and no longer journey thru the unspoken struggles alone. There’s no such thing as a perfect mom and the journey to motherhood isn’t perfect either. It’s time for moms to be ok with sharing that imperfection out loud with others and not feel ashamed.

*Photos courtesy of MamaMentors