The Courage to Confide
The courage to confide IS the confidence to lead.
A maternal mental health CAMPAIGN from The Breadwinners, for the mothers everyone else leans on.
our partners
We can no longer look away
Our Courage to Confide campaign exists to make it infrastructure: permission, language, and resources placed directly into the communities where the strongest mothers live. This is a rallying cry for brands, voices, and communities to unite under one message, so that no mother carries this alone.
Maternal mental illness is the most common complication of pregnancy and childbirth in America. It is unfolding in courtrooms, in headlines, and in group chats, all at once. The country is paying attention at a level not seen in decades.
Attention like this is rare because it either becomes infrastructure or it becomes a memory.
The Numbers most people have never seen
3 AM is when it can hit hardest. The helplines below will answer.
of maternal deaths caused by mental health conditions were classified as preventable by the state committees that reviewed them.
#1
Mental health conditions are the leading cause of pregnancy-related death in the United States, nearly 1 in 4 maternal deaths.
1 in 5
mothers experiences a maternal mental health condition, including postpartum depression and anxiety.
75%
never receive treatment. Fewer than 20 percent are screened at all.
100%
Sources: CDC, Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance, AAMC, Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health, 2026.
Nobody asks the strong one if she is okay
The Courage to Confide speaks directly to her, with one reframe at its center: saying "I am struggling" is naming the risk. It is a leadership act.
The mothers least likely to ask for help are the ones everyone else depends on. The primary earners. The emergency contacts. The women who run the company, the calendar, and the fever protocol, often in the same hour. Help-seeking drops as responsibility rises, because her steadiness is the thing everyone else is standing on.
"When one woman goes first, five more realize they are allowed to follow."
The courage to confide is the confidence to lead.
Three ways to go first, starting today
if you lead people:
Most women return to work inside the exact window when postpartum depression peaks. Ask real questions. Normalize real answers. Share these resources with your team.
03.
If you are struggling:
Tell one person. Today. Say it however it comes out. You do not have to tell everyone. You have to tell someone. If you do not know where to start, start with the helplines below.
01.
if you are thinking of her:
Do not wait for the right moment. Send the text. Ask her how she is really doing, then ask again, because the first answer is almost never the real one. Stay past "I'm fine."
02.
Save these. Share these
Crisis Text Line
Text HOME to 741741
Postpartum Support International
1-800-944-4773
National Maternal Mental Health Hotline
Call or text 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262) Free, confidential, 24/7
BETTERHELP
OPPAL
The world's largest online therapy platform, built to fit real lives. Work with a therapist through messaging, live chat, phone, or video sessions.
oPPal is a peer support platform that intentionally matches new and expecting moms (Little oPPals) with experienced moms (Big oPPals) who have walked the path of early motherhood before them.
You don't have to navigate motherhood alone
presented by
Empty nesters & Grandmothers
Expecting & new moms
Moms of kids & teens
About the Breadwinners
The Breadwinners is a community-led media platform for mothers who are building their careers while building their families.
Through invitation-only dinners across the country, The Breadwinners podcast, and the community on Substack, we build rooms where accomplished women say what they haven't said anywhere else. This campaign extends that work to every mother, everywhere.
CONTACT: alexis@thebreadwinners.co
If you or someone you love is struggling, free and confidential support is available 24/7. Call or text 988, or the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-TLC-MAMA. This campaign provides educational information and resources, and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
