May is Maternal Mental Health Month
Do you know that maternal mental health disorders like postpartum depression are the #1 complication of childbirth? According to the Blue Dot Project, up to 1 in 5 women will suffer from a maternal mental health disorder, and of those, less than 15% will receive treatment. Each year, more than 600,000 women will suffer from a maternal mental health disorder in the United States. When left untreated, these disorders can cause devastating consequences for the mother, her baby, her family, and our community. The leading cause of maternal mortality in Indiana is suicide and overdose. We have lost two mothers over the past several years, one to suicide at 4 weeks postpartum and one to an overdose at two weeks postpartum.
For over 20 years, we have been serving our community's most at-risk pregnant women through a variety of programs, including our maternal mental health program. This program is a comprehensive program supporting the community's need for better access to maternal mental health. Our maternal mental health therapist provides therapy to women who are experiencing a perinatal mood disorder, helps to develop staff and community partners on appropriate screenings, conducts co-parenting groups, and coordinates care with OB providers. Our maternal health therapist received a certification in Perinatal Mental Health (PMH-C) making us the only organization in the community with a therapist trained and certified to treat perinatal mood disorders.
In addition to therapy, our therapists facilitate support groups for mothers experiencing a perinatal mood disorder so they have peer support. Our maternal mental health director provided 10 community wide trainings last year on maternal mental health to spread awareness. All our home visiting staff complete training from Postpartum Support International and have been trained specifically on screening women for a perinatal mood disorder.
By being proactive and matching our clients with our Maternal Mental Health Therapists, we are giving them access to the support and tools they need to address their mental health challenges. This proactive approach has helped save thousands of lives. Find out more about our programs and how we support pregnant moms and their families by visiting our program page: https://www.healthiermomsandbabies.org/what-we-do
Find out more about The Blue Dot Project at https://www.thebluedotproject.org.