This viral cartoon is a reminder why we need mom friends right now

Irish illustrator and mama of one, Emma, is known on the internet as this_mama_doodles—and she drew an emotional cartoon in May that has since gone viral.

In it, she highlights the importance of mom friends, especially for those becoming new mom themselves. The support she got from her friends made this “cataclysmic life shift” more manageable for the illustrator, even when she lost friends along the journey into her new mama role.

The rawness of the cartoon is so relatable. In it, a mom who hasn’t had time to shave her legs, is still bleeding from just having had a baby, sits topless while breastfeeding her baby, next to her a pump, and to her other side is a friend looking and touching her with a loving gaze. She’s been there. She knows how hard those first days can be.

The post, which has over 6,000 likes at the time of publication, is filled with comments of other mamas tagging their friends and letting them know how grateful they are for having them in their lives. We should all collectively thank our mama friends for all the support they’ve given us, and in return, support new mamas around us as they enter this new chapter in their lives.

The viral comic’s caption reads:

‘I’ll meet you where you are’ Today’s picture is inspired by the beauty and resilience of female friendships. It is in honor of those friends that showed up for you when you needed them most.

If you become a mother before or long after some/perhaps most of your friends do, it can feel a little daunting to come together after such a cataclysmic life shift. Your friend’s life remains on track and as steady as when you last sipped cocktails together whereas yours derailed into a mudslide of diapers and hormones.

I lost contact with some friends when I became a mother but testament to the fact that I really only allow the very best of women close to my heart, my true friends showed up time and time again.

Whether I was sobbing over a breast pump bent over backwards taking pictures of an oozing C-section wound or chasing an Olympic crawler around the living room floor, my gorgeous friends sat with me, laughed with me and showed up for me exactly where I was. They didn’t have a magic cure on the bad days, nor did they have the answers to my anxiety ridden new-mom questions, but they sat with me, listened when I cried, rejoiced with me when my baby reached a milestone and then offered me a much needed escape in the form of their tales from their own lives.

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A post shared by Emma (@this_mama_doodles)

I have always admired the strength and endurance of female friendships. So often the media tries to pit women against one another but the vast majority of us are all rooting for each other and just dying for the cathartic release that comes with being close to the women you love no matter our differences.

Thank you to the most gorgeous friends who showed up for me in the darkest and brightest moments of the last few years.

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