Canadian wellness brand Listen B*tch is redefining the narrative surrounding postpartum experiences with a bold campaign

by Nneka Elliot
One of the most frustrating things about motherhood is the arbitrary, obscure, timelines that are attached to everything. There’s a ticking clock on when you’re supposed to heal, when your baby is supposed to sleep through the night, when you’re supposed to go back to the grind, when you’re supposed to feel like yourself again. Often insurmountable pressures to bounce back to our previous selves; mind, body and soul.
These concerns are at the core of Canadian wellness brand Listen B*tch’s “Mom Puberty” campaign. The goal is to help new moms embrace the transformative journey of Matrescence or “Mom Puberty” without the pressure to conform to delulu bounce back culture. The campaign features a series of bold billboards speckled across Toronto, encouraging mothers to reclaim their postpartum experiences. The super real and unfiltered postpartum imagery was captured by Toronto-based Black photographer and mom, Jorian Charlton, and was also included in a digital gallery at Cry Baby Gallery. “Mom Puberty” follows the release of two new bluntly brilliant affirmation card decks; the Pregnancy Edition and New Mom edition.
Listen B*tch co-founders and lifelong besties Daniela Angelucci & Michelle Osei-Bonsu, had a deep dive with me about their new campaign and how they’re hoping to shift perceptions about “the woes and wonders of motherhood,” and foster a supportive space for moms at every stage. Including Black moms as they seek to embrace their new identities.
Part of our conversation follows. (Their responses have been edited and shortened.)
Nneka: How are you feeling now that your baby is now out into the world?
Michelle: Excited. Excited! We actually held a gallery in person where we were able to show the work, have some members of the media, the press, as well as the general public come and view it. And we also had some of the models who are featured in the work pop up and the conversations, like, I'm getting chills just thinking about it. The number of people who just felt compelled to share their own story.
Daniela: Yes. Yeah. I think more than launching it, the excitement came from exactly what Michelle was saying, like, hearing the feedback, just getting people's honest thoughts on whether it be the cards or just the campaign itself, and sort of starting that conversation. And some of the conversation, too, was from moms who had babies, let's say, like, ten years ago or so, and just wishing that more of the conversation was focused around this.

Nneka: Sometimes you feel like it's something that's only happening to you, and so there's a reluctance to share. You didn't tell me about this mom! Perhaps you don't think to share it because you think it's such a personal experience.
Michelle: Yep. Absolutely. And so many moms talked about, too, like, the fear of sharing in that some people will take it as negative, like, or feeling. They need to say, I love my baby, but I don't like this, that the other. It's like, you don't need to preface it with, I love my baby. Of course you love your baby, but you are allowed to share these things that you're going through that are hard or uncomfortable, and you shouldn't feel shame for it. And we should be talking about it because that normalization is going to make moms feel less isolated to what you're saying, because it can feel incredibly personal, and even if another mom's going through it, it can still feel very lonely. And so we're just hoping to get the conversation going.
Nneka: I’m wondering whether there were any commonalities that came up in terms of Black women's stories when it comes to mom puberty.
Michelle: Yeah, so I would say it's come through in a couple of ways. I think during (the gallery event,) what was really encouraging to hear was some of the Black women who attended thank us for featuring Black bodies in true form, from their perspective, that often times when there are images of maternity or just pregnant women or women who are postpartum, it's usually white women. And it's not as common to see what a postpartum Black body looks like. So that was important to us when we were casting to make sure that was up front and center.
But apart from that, it usually came through the lens of traditional expectations in that Queeny, for example, she's Ghanaian, similar to me. And the postpartum conversation is. I will feel at liberty to say this because I am Ghanaian. It is arguably even more toxic than some of the stories that we've heard thus far. And that a lot of the narrative is around doing everything in your power to focus on the baby to your detriment at some point. But again, what that does is negate the fact that there is care and rest and recovery needed for the mom as well, too. And she spoke a little bit about some of those kinds of traditional values or some of the traditional mindsets that her family had that really made that initial postpartum period really challenging for her.

Daniela: Also, I just want to jump in quickly, like, not so much about the experience, but in terms of the way we shot this, working with Jorian Charlton, like, Queeny and Lesley on set were like, we were actually never shot by a Black photographer before. It's always a white photographer. Diversity was definitely not an afterthought. It was a forefront of how we want to bring this to life.
Nneka: What were your initial thoughts when you first saw them (billboards) And what reactions are you receiving?
Daniela: Yeah, it was. It was really fun to drive around the city and just see the idea brought to life on such a large scale and just. Just, like, taking a moment to, like, soak it all in. They just really pop on the street. And so far, it's very early days. I've just seen just sort of pedestrians stop by. We've also heard people go, what is mom, puberty? And I think if we're getting people to ask the question, that is a great start. And to hopefully people looking up online, whether it's our site or reading more on matrescence, like, just sort of diving into this transition that we're hoping to normalize.

Nneka: I feel like the juxtaposition of where we are in the world, the hardships that so many people are experiencing, what seems to be an increase in fertility issues, and, you know, in that environment, I feel like it has led to even more of a reluctance for people to share because you don't want to seem ungrateful. Has any of that come up, or can you speak a little bit more to that notion?
Daniela: It's just such a different world. And we really want to make sure that moms, all types of moms from different backgrounds…that we really de-shame, the feeling of moments of unhappiness, whether it be depression, anxiety, rage, like, these are all normal things. And just because you had a baby, of course you love your baby. Of course you are grateful to have a healthy baby, but that doesn't mean you're not allowed to feel these things, especially when, as we know, your hormones are in a totally different place postpartum, and also contributes physically to these overwhelming feelings. Like, we really just want to make sure that moms feel in a safe space to share these things and not feel shamed for it. Yeah.
Michelle: And I'll add on quickly and just say, I think another place we address that really well is in the new mom affirmation card deck. And that when we were doing the research for the cards, again, we held countless interviews with moms, and a term that kept coming up was mom guilt. And people described it in different ways, but the insight for us was, again, that a lot of moms felt guilty about needing things for themselves and wanted to prioritize everything for their babies or for their partners or for their family units. And so, a lot of our cards try to combat that directly and remind them that they're allowed to need things, too. They're allowed to want, they're allowed to need, and they also need care. And so that comes to a little bit in the affirmation card decks.

Nneka: What's next for Listen B*tch.
Michelle: I mean, for now, the plan is to keep beating the drum on mom puberty. Like, for us, again, this is really just the beginning. And so we're in the kind of meat and potatoes of the awareness phase right now. Our hope is to kind of go a bit more grassroots next and try and mobilize things on the ground. Whether it's with hospitals or doulas or other maternity clinics, we're trying to brainstorm how to have more impact. But then, above and beyond that, again, our audience, our community, is incredible, and they love to share ideas with us.
And so there are a couple of other communities that have given us ideas for other affirmation card deck additions that we're hoping to develop in the near future. So definitely more to come.
But for now, really, the maternal space is our focus.
You can learn more about “Mom Puberty” and the real mothers featured in this campaign at listenbitch.ca. The full line of affirmation cards are available at listenbitch.ca and amazon.ca
Nneka Elliott is an award-winning TV news personality turned lifestyle content creator. She shares her love of beauty, style, wellness and her adventures as a new mom.
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