DECEMBER 29 • 2022 | 35

After seeing how successful 
the support group has been, 
Rina and Julia realized they were 
on to something important. 
“It was absolutely wonderful,” 
Rina said. “Our goal was to offer 
a safe space for women to come 
together and talk about stuff we 
all go through, so they could feel 
less alone, and see that they’re 
not unusual or weird for having 
certain experiences … whether 
it’s depression, anxiety or just 
difficulty adjusting to life with 
a baby.”
The social connection alone 
can decrease some of these 
tough feelings. In fact, Julia 
shared, “Even more staggering 
was the decrease in anxiety and 
depression symptoms from the 
beginning of the summer group 
to the end, as measured by two 
screening tools.”
There are many expectations 
involved in motherhood, and 
veteran moms may inadvertent-

ly forget the hard parts and tell 
new moms wistfully things like, 
“This is the best time of your 
life.” When a new mom is strug-
gling, this is not exactly music 
to her ears, to put it mildly.
“On social media, people 
show motherhood as this easy 
thing, with perfect kids and a 
clean house … and it’s just not 
realistic. It makes us new moms 
feel scared that we’re doing 
something wrong,” Rivkah said. 
“Here, we can just be our real 
selves. It’s wonderful.”
That is exactly the point. 
“The biggest take-away is that 
whatever you’re feeling, you’re 
not alone,” Rina said. “There are 
always others who want to sup-
port you in this journey because 
motherhood may be beautiful 
but it’s also hard and messy.” 

For more information or to join a future 

support group, email jcohen@jfsdetroit.

org.

Julia Cohen and 
Rina Hennes Sabes.

