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In Her Circle | Perinatal Mental Health Movement

@in.her.circle

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Closing gaps in perinatal mental health care - mobilizing communities through fundraising, storytelling and advocacy.
Sign our Petition ⬇️

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Help close the gap in perinatal mental health care

Canada's first Mom and Baby Perinatal Mental Health Unit could open right here in BC.

BC Women's Health Foundation is raising $11M for exactly this — not new construction, but a renovation of already built space at BC Women's Hospital, ready to open as early as 2028.

We're asking the province to commit to funding its share.

Add your name to our petition to call on BC to open Canada's first perinatal mental health unit by 2028 — ending the practice of separating mothers and babies needing postpartum mental health care.

It takes less than 30 seconds to sign.

🔗 inhercircle.ca/takeaction/

#InHerCircle #ForJenna #MamaAndBabyUnit #PerinatalMentalHealth #TakeAction taken in Vancouver, British Columbia by @in.her.circle

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22 days ago

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25 days ago

This is for you, Jenna. 🦋🤍

This is for all the mamas who have felt alone.💛

For the women who carried strength on the outside while struggling silently within.💛

For the mothers who couldn’t understand why they felt the way they did, especially while being told this should be the most precious time of their lives.💛

For the mamas who spiral with worry, afraid they’ll miss it all because they grow so fast.💛

For the mothers grieving the version of postpartum they thought they would have.💛

For the women navigating rage, fear, numbness, anxiety, or sadness they never expected.💛

For the mothers healing from traumatic births, loss, or the weight of impossible expectations.💛

For the friends, aunties, and communities who want to help but don’t know how.💛

For the partners who want to fix what feels broken, but don’t know where to turn for support.💛

For the siblings and family members carrying worry behind closed doors.💛

For the children who have witnessed their mothers in pain.💛

For every family changed by maternal mental health.💛

For those we lost too soon and for those still fighting to stay.💛

Today is Jenna’s birthday. Today is why we launch In Her Circle.

The beginning of something bigger than us. Something we know Jenna would be proud of. Jenna championed women in every space she entered—often spaces not built for them. She advocated fiercely for others. Tragically, she could not advocate for herself in the way she deserved to be held.

So we are taking heartbreak and turning it into change. Into care. Into what has been missing in women’s health and women’s mental health.

The systems meant to hold us have failed us, again and again. We cannot bear to watch more women fall through the cracks.

We’ve been growing this movement like a baby, and today, together, we get to birth it. 🦋🤍

May the circle open and never close.⭕️

This is only the beginning. ✨

Link in bio for movement class schedule and silent auction details!

#InHerCircle #LaunchDay #NoWaitlists #PostpartumMentalHealth #CirclesofCare #MaternalMentalHealth #PerinatalMentalHealth #SupportMothers #4thTrimester #PostpartumCare #MotherhoodSupport #MothersMatter by @in.her.circle

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6 months ago

We are thrilled to share that all proceeds from our event "finding the Beauty way" will be donated to @in.her.circle a perinatal mental health movement. In Her Circle is closing gaps in perinatal mental health care — mobilizing communities through fundraising, storytelling, and advocacy.

Learn more about the event on October 22nd (in Vancouver) and purchase your tickets through the link in our bios. We hope to see you there. taken in Vancouver, British Columbia by @in.her.circle

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20 hours ago

🤍 ◯ Yesterday morning, we woke up to Jenna’s story and In Her Circle on the front page of not one, but two newspapers.

When we started in May 2026, our goal was to raise $16,000 for a drop-in support group for mothers experiencing postpartum depression and psychosis. We met that goal fast. So we raised it to $32,000, and met that too. Then we raised it to $50,000, and surpassed it.
Something was happening. People were showing up with their money, their platforms, their businesses, their stories and their support. We quickly understood this was bigger than a fundraiser. The gap is wider than we ever imagined. The need is bigger than one program. And people are ready to build something better.

We heard you, loud and clear. We won’t stop here.

Seeing this coverage was beautiful, powerful and bittersweet, because Jenna’s death was preventable. Knowing that the care she needed is finally being recognized and fought for is painful too. Her children are growing up without their mother. And our community is still heartbroken by her loss.

But we now know what grief can become when it’s transformed into a fierce commitment to change.

So with our hearts on our sleeves, we say THANK YOU.

To the journalists and media who chose to tell this story with care.
To the health care professionals who show up for mothers every day.
To our board members and volunteers.
To our partners, our donors and our followers.
To everyone who told us to keep going, and gave us their unconditional support.
To our community, our friends, and the aunties who held our babies while we worked late into the night.
To the survivors, whose courage in sharing their stories lights the way.
To every single person who has poured their heart and time into this movement.

This movement is rippling outward, and it’s because of you. For those who are still fighting and for those we have lost, we won't stop pushing for families, mothers and children of British Columbia.

Thank you. 🤍 ◯

1st photo by @tovah.p
2nd graphic by @jacquelineparker
3rd photo by @jay_hoggard
4th photo by @kristinecofskyphotography

#InHerCircle #ThankYou #ChangeIsPossible #PerinatalMentalHealth #Gratitude by @in.her.circle

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a day ago

Thank you, BC Greens! 💚 Leader Emily Lowan has committed to fund both establishing and operating Canada’s first Mother and Baby Perinatal Mental Health Unit at BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre, covering the cost of building the unit as well as running it. As the Greens put it, “the ongoing costs of acute care shouldn’t depend on donations.”

But the work isn’t done until every party commits. And even then, we’ll keep pushing until families get the perinatal mental health care they need.

This week brought big wins for BC families. Now we need to make sure there’s follow-through, and that’s what In Her Circle is here for.

Let’s get all three parties on board. This has never been one party’s issue. Postpartum mental illness reaches families in every riding, whatever their politics.

@emilylowan @greenpartybc @vanbcgreens

#InHerCircle #CloseTheGap #PerinatalMentalHealth #MaternalMentalHealth #PostpartumSupport #MotherAndBabyUnit #BCGreens #BCPoli #BCElection2026 by @in.her.circle

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2 days ago

Welcome to all our new followers! 💜

If you’re curious about who we are and what we’re here to do, take a listen as our co-founder and executive director, Kiri Bird, shares In Her Circle’s story: where it began, why we do this work, and the change we’re fighting for.

“No mother should have to choose between getting well and being with her child. That’s an impossible choice.” – Kiri Bird

Learn more and join the circle at inhercircle.ca

Want to take action!
Check out inhercircle.ca/takeaction/

Link in bio

Filmed by
@bcndp @davidebybc

#InHerCircle #PerinatalMentalHealth #MaternalMentalHealth #CloseTheGap by @in.her.circle

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2 days ago

Two parties have committed. This fight isn’t over. 🗳️

BC votes October 24, and this provincial election is our chance to close the gap in perinatal mental health care.

BC NDP Leader David Eby has committed to funding Canada’s first Mother and Baby Perinatal Mental Health Unit at BC Women’s Hospital. That’s a huge step, but we need every party on board.

The B.C. Greens went further than the B.C. NDP’s commitment to the unit, saying it would provide provincial funding to both establish and operate the unit.

Every year, about 175 BC families face a parent’s mental health crisis serious enough to need hospital care. Right now, that means separating a new mom from her baby when they need each other most. A mother-baby unit keeps families together while they heal.

People in all 93 voting areas across BC have signed our petition. Postpartum mental illness affects families of every political stripe. We need every party to commit before election day. Then we’ll keep the pressure on until this is more than a promise: a funded, staffed unit open to families by 2028.

Head over to the link through our bio to email your candidates using our easy template.

It takes less than a minute.

#InHerCircle #CloseTheGap #PerinatalMentalHealth #MaternalMentalHealth #BCPoli #BCElection2026 taken in British Columbia, Canada by @in.her.circle

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2 days ago

A Canadian first for mothers and babies. 💜🦋

Today, BC NDP Leader David Eby committed to fund Canada’s first Mother and Baby Perinatal Mental Health Unit at BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre. He is the first party leader in this election to make that commitment.

One in four mothers will face a mental health challenge during pregnancy or in the first year after birth. Each year in BC, about 175 of those cases become acute and need hospital care. Right now, no hospital in Canada can provide that care without separating a mother from her baby.

This unit would change that. Mother and baby would be admitted together, so she can recover with her child beside her.

In Her Circle was founded in memory of Jenna Dorman, and this unit has been one of our top advocacy priorities. With donor funding for the renovation and operating funding committed, it could open its doors to families as early as 2028.

We’ve shared the same costed proposal with BC party leader In Her Circle invites BC Conservative Leader Lorne Doerkson and BC Green Leader Emily Lowan to make the same public commitment before election day on October 24. Standing up for mothers and babies is what leadership looks like, and every party has the chance to show it.

Add your name to the Close the Gap petition, joining more than 3500 British Columbians: inhercircle.ca/takeaction

Full news release in our bio.

If you or someone you love is in crisis, call or text 9-8-8 any time.

@davidebybc
@bcndp

#InHerCircle #CloseTheGap #PerinatalMentalHealth #MaternalMentalHealth #BCPoli #BCElection2026 by @in.her.circle

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4 days ago

"It was incredibly traumatic. And it doesn't have to be."

In Canada, a mother who needs hospitalization for severe postpartum illness is usually admitted to a general psychiatric ward — alone. Separated from her baby at the exact moment they need each other most.

In the UK, much of Europe and other jurisdictions, mother-baby units let moms and babies be admitted together — so she gets the psychiatric care she needs, and her relationship with her baby is actively supported, not put on hold.

We're told that getting better means stepping away from our babies. That's not true, and it never has been.
Right now, too many mothers don't reach out for help because they're afraid of hospitalization. Care doesn't have to mean separation.

BC Women's Hospital and Health Centre is ready to dedicate an existing ward to perinatal mental health care — and BC has the chance to open Canada's first perinatal mental health unit, redefining the standard of care for mothers in crisis.

Head to our 🔗in bio to sign the petition

Photo by @kristinecofskyphotography
Video by @lecolibri.studio

#MotherBabyUnit #MaternalMentalHealth #PerinatalMentalHealth #PostpartumSupport #MaternalMentalHealthMatters taken in Vancouver, British Columbia by @in.her.circle

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10 days ago

You really showed up. Thank you. Now we need you more than ever. 💛

We set out to gather 2,500 signatures calling on BC to open Canada's first perinatal mental health unit, and we're almost there already. So we're raising the goal to 5,000.

We need your help to reach it.

Grow this circle.
Grow this mission.
Grow the community.

Here's how it ripples out: if you share this with just one member of your circle, and they share it with one of theirs, imagine how many circles we'll have surrounding mothers.

Sign, share and tag a mom, a parent, a friend, family or anyone who wants to make a difference in perinatal mental health.

🔗 in bio

#InHerCircle #PerinatalMentalHealth #MaternalMentalHealth #MotherAndBabyUnit #PostpartumSupport #PostpartumDepression #MentalHealthMatters #SupportMothers #BCMoms #BritishColumbia #BCHealth #SignThePetition by @in.her.circle

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11 days ago

Did you know postpartum psychosis affects 1–2 in every 1,000 births? In Canada, that is more than 400 families impacted each year. So why aren't we taking it seriously?

Here's the part that gets lost: it's treatable with the right support.

And the solution already exists. A specialized perinatal unit lets a mother and her baby heal together, safely, across the full spectrum of perinatal mental health challenges.

The UK, Europe and other jurisdictions have run these units for decades, and studies show that 92.2% of mothers with postpartum psychosis achieved full remission in the acute phase. This is a proven model. It is standard practice in many high-income countries with public healthcare systems, but there isn't a single one in Canada.

BC COULD BE FIRST.

Help us open Canada's first Perinatal Mental Health Unit. Add your name to the petition — 🔗 in bio.

Photos by @kristinecofskyphotography

#InHerCircle #ForJenna #MamaAndBabyUnit #PostpartumPsychosis #PerinatalMentalHealth #TakeAction taken in British Columbia, Canada by @in.her.circle

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16 days ago