Addressing the #1 Complication of Childbirth

As part of maternal mental health awareness month, we’re shining a light on postpartum depression—the #1 complication of childbirth. Did you know that 1-in-7 moms and 1-in-10 dads experience emotional struggles after the birth of their baby? Parents of every culture, age, income level and race can develop perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Symptoms can appear any time during pregnancy and the first 12 months after birth. Let’s test your current strategies for supporting postpartum depression. Here are three key questions to determine whether you are on the right track to helping families within your population.

1. Can you find the moms who need your help the most?

It is important to have a way of effectively screening women in your population to determine who might be at higher risk. And you must screen in a way that allows women to answer questions honestly in the privacy of their own homes. You also should be using the industry standard – the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.

2. Are you providing holistic education and support?

You need content and resources focused on a wide range of behavioral health-related topics including parental stress, postpartum care, healthy relationships, depression, and substance abuse. It’s also critical that you make it easy for women to connect and engage with your existing services and/or community-based resources, including crisis hotlines, support groups, and behavioral health providers.

3. Are you also educating caregivers and partners?

Recognizing the signs and symptoms of perinatal mood disorders can be tricky. Are you targeting specific content and resources to help caregivers and partners better understand what to look for and how to help? Mental health issues can be incredibly isolating, and lack of social support and interaction can trigger or worsen postpartum depression. Through awareness, education, and action, you can bring these issues out of the darkness, and connect individuals to the help they need. Our team at Wildflower is extremely passionate about de-stigmatizing these issues and building products that can intelligently connect families to available support services. Our solutions for growing healthy families include a specific focus on managing postpartum depression. Contact us today to learn how you can extend the reach and impact of your current maternity programs.