At our General Meeting on 28th July 2026 we had guest speaker Miranda "Mandy" de Greef speak about Postpartum Depression
The Club Members & Guests wished Secretary Ryan Happy Birthday and also wished his wife and himself a Happy Anniversary! 🥳
Service Protects Chair Esme thanked everyone who supported the Mothers Day Basket with the Rotary Club of St Martin Sunset. The Club donated $1,200 to date!
For our Christmas Project, we are planning to give out 100 guilder vouchers from Carrefour to persons in need. We are open to receiving donations from the public!
Rotarian Esme is also the Training Facilitator and she encouraged each person to do at least one training online on Rotary.org.
Rotarian Anjali introduced guest speaker Miranda “Mandy” de Greef who spoke about postpartum depression.
Symptoms are:
Lack of enjoyment of what you used to like
Constantly feeling sad or empty
Recurring thoughts of death or suicide
Risk factors:
Sleep deprivation
Previous episodes of mental health issues (major stressful events)
Significant hormone changes
Present in family history
What to do:
Let them contact the GP, midwife or gyno
Talk about it with your partner, family or friends
It’s important to let them talk and give them space to talk. Take feelings of sadness seriously, lighten their load, don’t take it personally (it’s a disease) and ensure a safe environment.
She also gave a tip, when meeting new parents instead of buy baby items as a gift - see if you can bring food instead
On St. Maarten she’s seen cases of limited family support, financial worries, relationship problems and limited access to specialized care
Important factors are information sessions given at the hospital during pregnancy, postpartum telephone calls to ask how the mothers are doing, and it’s important to have a good social network
After the presentation, President Grace presented Miranda with a token of appreciation for her generosity in sharing her knowledge with us!
President Grace also passed around banners from other clubs received from Rotarian Reena and former Rotarian Vinni!
