This was originally published in the 2023 Fall issue of strategy magazine.

I’ve returned to strategy after a rollercoaster year of childbirth and childrearing. I’ll be honest… becoming a mom sucked. It was the pits. Tortured by sleep deprivation, invasive thoughts, fretfulness, loneliness and isolation, mood swings, crying spells, an unrecognizable body/mind, and the relentless feeling that every day was Groundhog Day, I wanted out.

This, I eventually learned, was how many – oh so many – new mums experienced the first phase of motherhood. I wasn’t alone. So why did I feel that way? And why did I have to open up about my struggles before loved ones came out of the woodwork to say, “Oh, everyone feels that way during the newborn stage. But it gets better.”? They were right, of course. I just wish someone had thrown me a life preserver before I dove head-first into the postpartum ocean.

Postpartum depression and anxiety affects one in every seven women. It’s real. It’s endemic. And yet it’s still a dirty little secret. In truth, a lot of women’s natural, biological experiences have become cultural and societal taboos. If it’s not the fourth trimester, it’s “that time of the month.” We’re about to enter the year 2024, yet society – and the advertising industry that has a tendency to perpetuate stigmas – still portray vaginal bleeding as icky. Menstrual etiquette is still a bloody thing. Oh, and female masturbation? I’m convinced that disgusted drivers would have egged sex toy brand PinkCherry’s racy billboards (which used the suggestive tag, “Scream your own name!”) if they weren’t placed 20 feet above a busy highway.

I don’t mean to generalize. But the legacy of female shame is deep. And if there’s anything we’ve learned about the much-coveted younger generation, it’s that they don’t look too kindly on pussyfooting around the issue. They want brands to be real, raw, and relatable. Companies like Dove, one of strategy’s 2023 Brands of the Year, know this.

A paragon of authenticity, Dove recently rugby-tackled ageism, another feminist issue. #KeepTheGrey built on its decades-long journey to address, fight and reduce the stigma that many women face, yet few speak up about. We need more of this. Much more.

As for postpartum secrets, I implore the industry to do more work here. Just the other day, ad agency Courage penned a book, called What No One Tells You When You’re Expecting for North York General Hospital, in consultation with parents who shared true stories around pregnancy, birth and parenting. So the conversation is brewing, but new moms are still drowning. Be the one who throws them a life preserver.

Jennifer Horn is the content director and editor for strategy