My Personal Journey to Motherhood

Despite the pandemic, 2020 and 2021 are years that have been very special to my heart. On February 12th, I welcomed my first child Joaquim on a sunny day in San Francisco. Even though having him here today is a real bliss, the journey to getting there was not an easy road.

As a woman and entrepreneur, I experienced high levels of anxiety during my pregnancy. Being an entrepreneur during COVID-19 was way more stressful than I anticipated, and being pregnant at the same time made it even more intense. 

I am a French skin scientist who moved from Paris to California 6 years ago. While I’ve learned to live away from my family, I never thought my family would not be there to see me pregnant or be there to welcome my child.

Due to the intensity of running a company during the pandemic, I found myself crying everyday due to a combination of stress and pregnancy hormones. I fortunately managed to take much better care of myself thanks to the support of my team, mentors, husband and friends. It is well known that women, even more for women of color, get much less funding and less support when running a company. I learned to take a step back, admit that I can’t control everything and prioritize being more gentle to myself.

I worked up until the day of my delivery, and remember walking into the delivery room like I was arriving at a vacation resort. I finally had a good excuse to delete all my work related apps and give my phone away for the next couple of days to my husband. I was able to welcome my son and dedicate the first weeks of this life solely to him. This period of time was filled with pure happiness.

As women, we have so much to carry on our shoulders and some hormonal transitions we are facing like our periods, puberty, menopause, pregnancy and more, can make the journey even more challenging on our minds and bodies. We talk a lot about postpartum depression, but not enough about dealing with anxiety and stress during pregnancy.

Because of what I’ve been through in dealing with the stress during my pregnancy, I want to support mom entrepreneurs or other women going through similar difficulties in their life as much as I can.

This is why we are partnering with the organization, Postpartum Support International (PSI), to give a portion of our proceeds to their nonprofit to support mental health in other women. 

Coping with the mental health challenges during pregnancy and after the birth of your child can feel isolating. Whether you are going through stress, getting adjusted to parenting, experiencing baby blues, or pregnancy or postpartum depression/anxiety, PSI has built a support network to provide help during difficult times.

About Postpartum Support International (PSI):

Postpartum Support International (PSI), was founded in 1987 with the mission of increasing awareness worldwide about the emotional changes women experience during pregnancy and postpartum. They offer online support, resources, advocacy and more to provide help to women going through this journey.

Visit: https://www.postpartum.net/ to learn more.

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Dr. Elsa