CLEVELAND — On Sunday, Cleveland participated in the worldwide 'Climb Out of the Darkness' event, aimed at raising awareness for maternal mental illnesses like postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety and OCD, postpartum PTSD and more.
Organizers said one in seven mothers struggle with some sort of mental health issue during or after a pregnancy. The event is meant to help assure them they're not alone.
"We know that this affects mothers on a pretty big scale. One in seven, and a lot of mothers are too scared to seek help and support so we want to make sure that everybody knows that they're not alone and it's okay to get help," organizer Rachel Bowers said.
The family-friendly walk included plenty of activities to keep the kids busy as well, like face painting and a balloon artist.
One of the main goals of the event is to make sure mothers are getting screened both during and after pregnancy to check for any mood changes.
Money raised during the event will support the Ohio Chapter of Postpartum Support International to support programming for mothers and families in the area.
