Bay Shore mom creates postpartum support center she wishes she’d had herself

For many women, motherhood can bring isolation, anxiety and struggles that often go unseen.

After experiencing those challenges firsthand, Bay Shore resident Lisa Lackner is opening a new center designed to help local mothers navigate the postpartum journey together.

Beyond Motherhood, which officially opens June 8 at 94 W. Main St. in Bay Shore, will offer support groups, educational programming and child-watch services aimed at helping women experiencing postpartum depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and other perinatal mental health challenges.

Lackner told Greater Long Island that while she spent more than a decade working in healthcare as a physician assistant, nothing fully prepared her for what she experienced after the birth of her daughter in 2024.

“My pregnancy was okay, but I was sick most of it,” she said.

Her daughter (pictured, with Lisa) arrived at 37 weeks weighing just 5 pounds. Two weeks later, Lackner was diagnosed with postpartum preeclampsia, which she said triggered severe depression, anxiety and OCD.

“I was pacing the hallway saying I was going to die,” she recalled. “Nobody would listen to me.”

For months, she struggled to find support before eventually connecting with a maternal mental health program in New York City that helped her begin to recover.

The experience sparked an idea.

Realizing that many Long Island mothers face similar challenges without nearby resources, Lackner set out to create a local community focused on perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, often referred to as PMADs.

“Women can have someone watch their baby while they participate in the support groups,” Lackner said.

She said Beyond Motherhood also plans to partner with doulas, therapists and lactation consultants, while offering virtual memberships for mothers who are unable or not yet ready to attend in person.

The center has been designed to create a calming atmosphere, featuring soft sage-green tones, a coffee bar stocked with tea, snacks and seltzers, and private nursery rooms for breastfeeding.

While services are geared toward women from pregnancy through the first few years of motherhood, Lackner said the center is intended for any mom looking for connection — not just those in crisis.

“This is a community where people get you,” she said.

Each week, facilitators will lead guided discussions incorporating mindfulness, meditation, grounding techniques and goal-setting exercises designed to help mothers build practical coping skills and meaningful connections.

For Lackner, Beyond Motherhood represents more than a business. It is an effort to ensure other women do not experience the same isolation she once felt.

“We need a better system for women,” she said.

See what’s inside

All photos from Lisa Lackner