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Social Support

Ringing Phone

Mothers around the world need a lot of help. The phrase "it takes a village" is a human universal (read more here). While many mothers can and do raise children successfully by themselves, we encourage you to find help and reach out to others when possible. Even when it feels difficult to ask for help. 

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In the 'Emotional Support' section, we offer a collection of resources to find other parents to connect with. In our 'Asking for Help' section, we provide resources for strategies to ask for help and getting over emotional barriers to asking. 

Emotional Support

Who in your life is there to listen to you? Who is there to give you confidence in yourself?

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A good place to find emotional support is connecting with other new moms. Here are some resources to connect with new parents: 

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Postpartum International Support (PIS) Group

PIS offers online meet-ups for pregnant and postpartum women, including "Mood Support" to connect with other parents, talk about your experience, and learn about helpful tools and resources. Whether you are going through stress, adjustment to parenting, Baby Blues, or pregnancy or postpartum depression/anxiety.

Search PIS Groups

Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPs)

Online and in-person meetups across the U.S. with various focuses, and several Spanish-speaking groups as well. 

Search MOPs Groups

Parents Helping Parents

Online social support groups where parents can share tips and stories.

Parents Helping Parents

Parents' Place Support Groups

Online social support groups for parents with special needs children, including Spanish-speaking groups. 

Parents' Place Groups

211 LA

If you are a resident of Los Angeles County, a parenting support group for Spanish-speaking mothers of children 10 years and younger is available. Topics may include self-esteem, setting limits, health and relationships. The groups meet at an offsite location and childcare is provided free of charge for participants. Postpartum counseling for women who are experiencing maternal depression is available through the New Moms Connect program. 

211LA Parenting Support Groups

Asking for Help

It can be difficult to admit to yourself and others that you need more help than you are receiving. Latina women participating in the Supporting Mothers project shared that often when friends and family are already giving you help, it can be tough to ask for more. Asking for help can be difficult and takes practice. However, it can lead to reciprocal relationships of help that are better for everyone. 

 

Here are some strategies for asking for help. 

Strategies to communicate your needs

Through conversations with moms and communication experts, HealthLine developed 12 strategies for asking for help. 

12 Ways to Ask for Help

How to ask for emotional support

Blog post from Psychology Today shares how being vulnerable can be challenging. If you don’t know how to ask for help or tell someone what you need, here are some ways to get started:

Getting Started with Emotional Support

Building healthy communication in a relationship

This article from PsychCentral discusses how to build healthy communication with a spouse, but the tips provided by certified psychotherapists can be applied to any relationship (mother-daughter, friend-friend, and so on). 

Strategies for Building Support

How others can help during and after pregnancy

Here is a guide provided by University of Michigan's Children's hospital that lays out how partners can be supportive during and after pregnancy. These tips can be used by anyone close to the mother and be helpful to send to loved ones. 

How to Get Help

Mental Health Resources

If you are consistently feeling dissatisfied with the emotional or physical help you are receiving, you may want to talk to someone whose job it is to help people and talk through problems. Please follow the link below for the Mental Health Resources page on this site. 

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