Emotional crisis? Call or text 988, any time.Crisis? Call or text 988. In danger right now? Call 911. Call 988Text 988Emergency 911 Pregnant or a new parent? The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline, 24/7: call or text 1-833-TLC-MAMA
For every kind of family

For single moms and solo parents

You should not need a partner to have a support system. Practical ways to build one.

4 min readΒ·Written by the Postpartum+ team, checked against public guidanceΒ·Updated

Solo parents are often solving childcare, work, recovery, money and care access all at once, and much of the standard postpartum advice assumes there is someone else at home. Postpartum+ tries not to make that assumption.

Build a support crew on purpose

  • List everyone who could do one concrete thing: a neighbor who can hold the baby for a shower, a friend who can drive to an appointment, a relative who can text every morning.
  • Ask for specific, bounded help. "Can you come Tuesday from 6 to 8?" gets more yeses than "let me know if you can help."
  • Use the Postpartum+ shared space to give one trusted person visibility into appointments and tasks.

Care access

  • Ask providers about virtual appointments and whether you can bring the baby.
  • Some IOP and PHP programs offer or can point you to childcare help. Ask before assuming you cannot attend.
  • The Family Assistance Fund is being built for exactly the gap between wanting care and being able to get to it.

Find your people

Community topics and events are open to everyone, and you will not be the only solo parent there. Postpartum Support International also runs free online support groups. Meeting one other person in the same situation changes a lot.

Drawn from public guidance including Postpartum Support International. Educational only; not medical advice.

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