Rogue Writes Volume 1

Flora’s Walk for Perinatal Mental Health

Walking Toward Change: Breaking the Silence Around Perinatal Mental Health

Who is Flora?

Flora’s Walk for Perinatal Mental Health is named in honour of Flora, whose lifelong dream was to become a mother. At 44 years old, after years of fertility treatments, she became pregnant as a single parent by choice. Though she was overjoyed, Flora also experienced significant anxiety throughout her pregnancy. 

After giving birth to her daughter, Flora was thrilled. But within days, her mental and physical health began to decline. When she returned home, she began to show signs of emotional withdrawal and confusion, including believing she was being watched or that her life was in danger.

Flora was experiencing symptoms of postpartum psychosis, a rare and serious perinatal mental health condition affecting 1-2 in 1000 pregnant people. Tragically, she died by suicide just over two months after giving birth.

Why Is This Important?

Across Canada, there is no universal standard for perinatal mental health care. The type and amount of support a parent receives before and after birth varies widely depending on location, care provider, and access to available resources. Too often, mental health is overlooked in favour of physical recovery, leaving many new parents to struggle in silence.

In Ontario, suicide is the fourth leading cause of death during the perinatal period, which includes pregnancy and the first year postpartum. This heartbreaking reality underscores the urgent need for comprehensive, accessible, and proactive perinatal mental health care.

But the issue runs deeper than just access. There is also a powerful stigma that discourages and prevents parents from reaching out for help. New parents are often expected to feel nothing but joy and gratitude, even while navigating sleep deprivation, identity shifts, hormonal changes, and sometimes traumatic birth experiences. Admitting to feelings of sadness, anxiety, or disconnection can leave a parent feeling like a failure. This fear keeps many from speaking up and asking for help.

Flora’s Walk for Perinatal Mental Health was created in her memory to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and advocate for better services across Canada. It’s a movement of hope, compassion, and change for Flora and the thousands of families still suffering in silence.

What is Flora’s Walk for Perinatal Mental Health?

When the Canadian Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative learned about Flora’s story, they were moved to action. In May 2022, just months after Flora’s passing, the first Flora’s Walks were held across the country. That year, 19 walks raised $75,000 for 22 charities offering perinatal support.

The momentum continued in 2023, raising over $121,000 for 85 healthcare practitioners and 8 grassroots organizations. By 2024, the number of walks grew to 52, raising more than $200,000 for 65 organizations across Canada.

In 2025, Life With a Baby took on the national coordination of Flora’s Walk for Perinatal Mental Health. This year, 75 teams are already walking and fundraising across the country. Seventy percent of the funds raised by each team will be donated to a local service, practice, or organization supporting perinatal mental health.

My Journey with Flora’s Walk

When I first heard Flora’s story, I was reminded of my own. After experiencing a miscarriage during my first pregnancy, I felt alone. There was so much stigma around pregnancy loss, and it made others uncomfortable to talk about it, so I often stayed quiet. When I became pregnant with my rainbow baby, that silence felt even more intense. I felt like I had to focus only on the gratitude of my new pregnancy because of my loss, but I was also feeling intense fear, anxiety, and grief. My symptoms worsened, but I struggled to raise a flag for help. Once I finally shared that I was struggling, it took months to receive the support I deserved.

My perinatal period was difficult, and for a long time, I didn’t feel like I could speak about it. But when I finally started being honest about my experience, other friends and family began to share their stories too. I felt less alone, and I wished I had spoken up sooner. I knew I wanted to make a difference for others, I wanted to help fill the gap in the support that I saw for new mothers and parents. 

In 2023, I got involved in Flora’s Walk as a team member thanks to my friend and fellow perinatal advocate, Cierra Bailey, who led the Hamilton Flora’s Walk that year. I was deeply moved by the number of people who showed up to raise awareness and destigmatize perinatal mental health. It was a beautiful and powerful experience.

Inspired, I approached Cierra in 2024 to bring Flora’s Walk to our community in Haldimand. We set a modest goal of raising $1,500, unsure if anyone would show up or even care. But on May 1, 2024, over 60 people gathered at our walk, and together, we raised $6,596. Seventy-five percent of the funds went to Wild Birth, a local business owned by doula and perinatal advocate, Shani.

That fall, Flora’s Walk Haldimand, in collaboration with Wild Birth, used part of Flora’s funds to launch a free weekly in-person support group for individuals and partners in their perinatal period. Though the group was small, the impact was powerful. Week after week, we created space for community, connection, and healing, showing up for each other for both celebration and support. 

Flora’s Walk Team Haldimand 2025

This year, 70% of the funds raised by Flora’s Walk Team Haldimand will go to Rogue Healing Psychotherapy, and I am deeply honoured to be this year’s recipient. The funding will support two free offerings in our community:

1. Flora’s Walk Support Group

Co-hosted by Rogue Healing Psychotherapy and Cierra Bailey (Not Mother Goose), this free in-person group will welcome mothers, parents and support people from the perinatal period and beyond. Each week, we’ll explore a different topic, like grief in parenthood, expectations vs. reality, or changes in relationships, while also holding space for what naturally arises. The heart of this group is connection: creating a safe, supportive space where parents feel seen, heard, and less alone.

2. ACT in the Perinatal Period Therapy Group

This virtual therapy group will be hosted by Rogue Healing Psychotherapy and offered for free. Designed for parents from conception to one year postpartum, this group will use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help participants recognize when challenging thoughts and feelings are taking over, learn how to unhook from them, and identify values that guide meaningful action. We’ll build grounding and mindfulness skills to support intentional, connected parenting and reconnect with the kind of parent and person you want to be.

How Can You Get Involved?

There are 75 walks happening across Canada this year! Find one near you at Flora’s Walk, join a team, or donate to the cause! Walks are free, family-friendly events that often feature inspiring speakers, prizes, and a chance to build community.

If you’re in the Haldimand area, please consider following @floraswalkhaldimand and joining us at the Caledonia Fairgrounds on May 10th, from 10 AM – 12 PM. Whether you walk, donate, or simply spread the word, you’re helping to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and support real change in perinatal mental health.

Why It Matters for All of Us

Flora’s story is not an isolated tragedy. It is a heartbreaking reflection of a much larger, systemic issue. One in four mothers and one in ten partners experience symptoms of a Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorder, and yet, so few receive the care and support they truly deserve. Stigma, lack of resources or access, and insufficient support systems leave too many parents suffering in silence.

Flora’s Walk is about more than one story, it’s about all of us. It’s about building a future where every parent feels safe asking for help, where mental health care is accessible and compassionate, and where no one feels alone during one of life’s most vulnerable transitions.

By walking, donating, or simply spreading awareness, you’re helping to shine a light on perinatal mental health. You’re saying that every parent matters. That no one should have to struggle alone. And that we can, and must, do better.

So let’s walk. For Flora. For the 1 in 4. For every parent who needs to know they are not alone.

If you, or someone you know, would like to learn more about the Fall in-person support group or the virtual therapy group, I’d love to hear from you. Fill out the contact form, and I’ll keep you in the loop with updates and registration details!