Bozeman Magazine

The fourth annual Moms Like Me event hosted by local non-profit Roots Family Collaborative will be held on Sunday, March 8, 2020 at The Rialto Theater in downtown Bozeman. This FREE community event intends to raise awareness, lessen shame, and provide resources and information about the postpartum experience for families living in Gallatin County. This year’s Moms Like Me will take place from 4:00-8:00pm; doors will open at 3:30 for the 4:00pm sharp start time. Five local mothers will share their true postpartum stories to normalize the realities and validate the experiences of people everywhere. Childcare will be provided offsite. Roots Family Collaborative launched their first annual Moms Like Me event in 2017 in response to a postpartum tragedy that shook the Bozeman community early in 2016. Overwhelming response to the event supported fast growth, and in 2019 the event drew over 250 people. Moms Like Me continues to provide local mothers and families a safe space to feel acknowledged while witnessing the power of storytelling and connecting to our great community. With the current gap in postpartum care and the constant demands of caring for a new baby, parents often feel isolated, exhausted, and overwhelmed. One in seven mothers and one in ten fathers suffer from some form of mental health disorder during pregnancy and/or the postpartum period. This means that statistically speaking, each of us probably knows someone whose life has been affected by prenatal or postpartum mood disorders. The problem is both personal and universal. Roots Family Collaborative takes its role in the community seriously and believes that action is needed to address the mental health of parents in our community. Through the annual Moms Like Me event, regular support groups, workshops for new families, and distribution of the Roots Wellness Guide, Roots has stepped in to fill a glaring void by becoming the trusted connection point for both families and providers during this stage of life.