Black mothers often look to the experience of their mothers when it comes to taking care of their children. Edmonton-based social worker Millicent Asiedu found that the watching her mother doing it all while raising the brood was a bit of an illusion. Her mother was badly stressed out but soldiered on.

The experience, following the birth of her baby, Asiedu describe as “the strong Black mom syndrome.” She says being all things in the household was impractical and exhausting.

“That’s what we’ve been taught to aspire to, and it’s not realistic because we’ve seen how detrimental it’s been for our mothers, just looking at how they never really took time to take care of themselves,” Asiedu said in an interview Monday.

Asiedu’s journey to self-care was the inspiration behind her organization Mesh of Mothers Foundation, formed in 2021. MOM is now launching initiatives to address the gap in Canadian data and resources for the mental wellbeing of Black moms.

“The more we know, the better we’re able to put resources in place for us to thrive and to find joy and resiliency within our lives and to support each other,” Asiedu said.

“We need to create those spaces to decrease those stigmas for people to actually realize that they’re not alone and that if they are experiencing these things they can access resources out there.”

Asiedu said data shows Black, Indigenous and mothers of colour are at greater risk of postpartum depression but “that’s where the statistics stop.”

There is also a hesitancy among Black women to talk about challenges around mental health, she said, for fear of looking weak or possessed, based on traditional beliefs.

Mesh is holding a panel discussion titled ‘Black Motherhood From Our Lens.”

Panelist and provisional psychologist Denise Stacey said it’s also a widely held misconception that religion should be enough to help someone cope with challenges around mental health.

She said she hopes Black mothers leave the conference knowing they can access safe non-faith based spaces when they are feeling anxious or having an off-day.

“Black mothers were sort of trained through the generations just to keep everything in and not really talk about how we’re truly feeling, any struggles we may have,” Stacey said.

“So for them to come together as a community, know that they have that space and it’s OK to talk about your mental health and that you are struggling, and to find those individuals within your circle to rally around you.”

The agency is creating a database of Black health practitioners including psychologists and doulas.