My Story
Hi, I’m Nancy. A wife, daughter, friend, and mom of two little ones. In order to understand Anamav Postnatal Care, you need to know more about me. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, a bit of an overachiever, and I’ve got a whole lot of passion.
My motherhood journey started on February 3, 2020 – the day I found out I was pregnant. I had just gotten married and we had several travel plans that year (although we wouldn’t be the only ones to have our travels disrupted in 2020…). It came as a complete shock, but once it settled in, I had a happy and healthy pregnancy.
Like many of us, my labour and birth experience was nowhere near what I had planned or expected, but my daughter Amaya arrived, beautiful and healthy.
The period that followed changed everything. I returned to the hospital a week later and was admitted to the psychiatric ward. I was diagnosed with postpartum psychosis, which was followed by a long journey of guilt, anger, confusion, sadness, and eventually recovery.
I wanted another child (being an only child myself), and in May 2023 my son Maverick was born. This time was different and I did a lot of work to manage my anxiety around reoccurrence, including making sure I had a strong support system in place. Thankfully, I had a much more positive experience this time around (with the help of my doulas and some of the resources noted in our Free Resources section)!
Click the image below to watch a 5-minute video of my story, which I shared on Postpartum Psychosis Awareness Day. My intention is not to scare anyone, but rather to increase awareness and also provide some perspective of why I felt the need to start Anamav.
After a rollercoaster of experiences over the past four years, I am now determined to support new mothers and parents to ensure they have a much better start to parenthood than I did.
I truly enjoy meeting expecting and new parents, so if you’d like to chat, I would love to hear from you!
About Anamav
Anamav was created to help fill the gaps in postnatal care that so many parents experience. We offer some of the most essential services that a new parent needs: an extra set of hands, tools to build healthy sleep habits for your family, and lactation support for those who choose to and are able to breastfeed.
We want to take a moment to recognize that a new baby doesn’t just impact the birthing person – it affects the entire family. Having a new baby is a big life change for both parents and their relationship can change significantly as well. Our goal at Anamav is to support the entire family and understand each family’s individual needs.
Our vision:
A world where parents feel seen, supported, and empowered as they navigate the life-changing transition into parenthood—feeling confident in their ability to raise the next generation.
Our mission:
To create a safe, nurturing space for parents at every stage of their journey, offering expert support and education to help them build a strong foundation.
Where we are headed
Exciting things to come
Anamav currently offers in-home services in the Greater Toronto Area, but our dreams are much bigger!
We plan to expand our services beyond the GTA, and we hope to become affiliated with various providers and organizations to better support families. We also plan to increase our virtual offerings to reach more parents. Lastly, we look forward to providing more education and resources for families to make our support accessible to as many parents as possible.
Why We Are Needed
It is no secret that having a baby is a major life-changing event, however, the supports and resources available for new parents do not match what is actually needed.
As a society, we also still have a lot of work to do in raising awareness around perinatal mental health and removing harmful stigmas that prevent mothers from reaching out for help.
Consider these statistics:
- Approximately 1 in 5 women experience perinatal mental health disorders in Canada, according to Statistics Canada.
- Research published in the Journal of Affective Disorders found that during the COVID-19 pandemic, this increased to 1 in 3 women for depression and 1 in 2 women for anxiety.
- Maternal depression and anxiety are stronger risk factors for child behaviour problems than smoking, binge drinking, and emotional or physical domestic abuse.
However, here’s another statistic we should be talking about:
A 2023 scoping review published in Cureus found that doulas significantly decrease rates of postpartum depression and anxiety, along with improving overall maternal outcomes.
So many negative outcomes can be prevented or minimized with the right supports in place and with basic needs being met. At Anamav, we want to help you meet those needs and provide the support every new parent deserves.
For families who already have strong support systems in place, we are so happy for you. But for those who may not have friends or family nearby, or who simply need additional help, we want to be there for you, whether that means tackling your first baby bath, navigating a diaper blowout, managing a blocked duct, or simply getting the rest you need.
You don’t have to navigate this alone.
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