Call the helpline
Speak to a trained listener. Calls are free from Orange and Africell lines. You do not have to give your name.
Mon to Fri 8am to 6pm, Sat 9am to 1pm
Call +232 73 727131
You can talk to someone today.
What you are feeling has a name, and it is treatable. Talking to us is free. We do not tell anyone what you say.
Mon to Fri 8am to 6pm, Sat 9am to 1pm
If you are in danger right now
If you are thinking of harming yourself or your baby, or you feel you cannot keep either of you safe, do not wait for our office to open.
- Call the national emergency line on [VERIFY]
- Go to your nearest hospital or health centre
- Tell someone you trust, right now, and stay with them
You are not a bad mother for feeling this way, and you are not the first. Please reach out.
Available services
Everything below is free
There is no charge for any of our support, no referral needed, and no requirement to give your real name.
Ways to reach us
Choose whatever feels easiest
There is no wrong way to get in touch, and no question that is too small.
Message on WhatsApp
If calling feels like too much, write to us instead. We reply during our staffed hours. Please do not send anything you would not want seen if someone else picks up your phone.
Open WhatsAppJoin a support group
Free and confidential, for mothers only. In person in Freetown every first Saturday at the Freetown Community Centre, and on WhatsApp nationwide.
Ask to join
Before you contact us
What happens when you reach out
What we will do
- Listen without judging you
- Explain what postpartum depression is and what helps
- Offer you a place in a support group near you, at no cost
- Refer you to a clinic or health worker if you want that
- Keep what you tell us private
What we cannot do
- We are not a medical service and we do not prescribe medicine
- We cannot answer calls outside our staffed hours
- We cannot promise confidentiality if a child is at risk of serious harm, because we have a duty to act
We would rather tell you this now than have you find out at a difficult moment.
PPD support and information
Understanding what is happening to you
Knowing that postpartum depression has a name, and that it is common and treatable, is often the thing that makes a mother willing to ask for help.
What postpartum depression is
A medical condition, not a weakness. It can start during pregnancy or in the first year after birth, and it responds to support.
Read the resource centreSigns to watch for
Sadness that will not lift, constant worry, exhaustion that rest does not fix, difficulty bonding with the baby. Two weeks or more is a reason to talk to someone.
See the full listMyths and facts
It is not just baby blues. Praying is not a reason to go without support. Feeling this way does not mean you do not love your baby.
Open the awareness hub
Request a call back
Ask us to contact you
Fill this in and someone from our team will get in touch during our next staffed hours. If you need help sooner, please call or use WhatsApp instead.
Your privacy
What you write here is stored securely and seen only by the small team who handle support requests. We do not sell or share it, and we delete it once it is no longer needed.
You can ask us at any time to show you what we hold about you, or to delete it. Write to privacy@example.org.
If someone else can see your phone
You can ask us to contact you by phone call rather than message, or to use a time when you are alone. Tell us in the box above and we will follow it.
Questions
Things mothers ask us before they call
Will you tell my family?
No. What you tell us stays with our support team. The one exception is if a child is at risk of serious harm, where we have a duty to act, and we would tell you at the time.
Does it cost anything?
No. The helpline and support groups are free.
Do I have to give my real name?
No. A first name or a nickname is fine, on the phone and on our forms.
I do not live in Freetown. Can you still help?
Yes. Our WhatsApp peer groups run nationwide, and we can refer you to a trained health worker near you.
Find a health centre
Clinics we work with
These centres have staff who have completed our postpartum depression screening training. You can go to any of them and ask for maternal mental health support.
Pre-launch: this list is empty on purpose
A directory of clinics is a promise. Listing a centre that has not actually been trained, or that turns a mother away, does more damage than having no list at all. This section stays out of the live site until each centre has confirmed in writing that it will receive referrals. Delete this notice once the list is populated.