PHOENIX, Ariz. – Danielle Haines, 34, of Phoenix, has turned a raw photo of herself with her newborn into a powerful message to other mothers.
Three days after giving birth to baby Ocean last November, Haines took a photo while breast-feeding.
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Recently, Haines shared that photo on Facebook. It has been shared over 22,000 times.
"I loved my baby, I missed his daddy (he went back to work that day), I was mad at my mom, my heart hurt for my brother because my mom left us and now I had a little boy that looked like him, my nipples were cracked and bleeding, my milk was almost in, my baby was getting really hungry, I was feeling sad that people kill babies, like on purpose, I had not slept since I went into labor, I didn't know how to put my boobs away, my vagina was sore from sitting on it while nursing constantly, I was kinda loosing my mind," she wrote in her Facebook post.
Within hours of posting the photo, she received feedback from hundreds of other mothers.
Courtney Elizabeth Ball wrote:
"This brought tears of pain and validation to my eyes...For the lack of support I've had PP with both my babies, for the continued depression up until this past month...Thank you for sharing...More women need to know that they are not alone."
Haines said she wouldn't have been able to get through the emotional time without the help of Medicine for Mama's Seven Sister Program, as well as the midwives who checked in on her.
As a result of her photo and message, Haines and a few other moms created a Facebook page called "Postpartum Confession," an outlet for moms to share their photos and stories.