SAN FRANCISCO -- Getting involved in an activity like surfing often helps new mothers combat postpartum depression. But doing that while you have young children with you can be difficult. A group of Bay Area moms has decided to join the"surf-swapping" wave sweeping coastal U.S. cities.
She is part of a group of moms who recently came together to form the Marin County chapter of Surfing Moms, a nonprofit that started in Hawaii but is gaining momentum with mothers across California and other parts of the country. "I had seen the sort of life-changing magic for me of having a group of people to surf with but also to build an informal but very tight-knit network of support for the mothers, children and the whole family," she said.
"We're benefiting from the therapeutic aspects of just being in the water and being together," she said. A few years ago, Renschler, who previously worked in community mental health, quit her job to start Blue Zone Marin, a group that takes mothers and daughters out into the ocean so they learn to surf together.