CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – Organizations across the Commonwealth are working to improve awareness of and access to maternal mental health resources for mothers and families.
Dr. Jennifer Payne, professor and vice chair of research in the department of psychiatry and neurobehavioral sciences at UVA Health, said mental health care before, during, and after pregnancy can have long-term positive impacts on health for families.
“Taking care of mom is taking care of baby,” Dr. Payne said. “Improving outcomes for mom will improve outcomes for her children, and that really can have long-term repercussions for whole communities and for all of us having a lower risk of other health conditions.”
Unaddressed mental health concerns during pregnancy can lead to preterm birth, low birth weights, higher risks for C-Sections, and an elevated risk of postpartum depression for mothers, according to Dr. Payne. She said postpartum depression may also lead to impacts on a child’s IQ and language development skills.
Dr. Payne said treating mental health concerns can be easy, and leave a lasting impact. However, barriers in identifying expecting parents in need of support, along with stigma surrounding care, can limit who receives treatment.
“We’re doing an increasingly better job of making sure that we’re screening for mental health — but it’s really not universal,” Dr. Payne said. “It’s still less than 50% of cases of postpartum depression are identified and even fewer are treated. So there is definitely room to improve.”
Sabrina Burress, CEO and co-founder of the ARROW Project, a wellness and mental health organization in Staunton, described the stigma that she said plays a role in why mothers do not seek care.
“I think that the reason that there is a disparity is because when we have children, right, this is supposed to be like the best time of your life and everything’s supposed to be perfect and you’re supposed to be so excited, and I think often moms don’t feel comfortable saying, I’m not excited, or I’m feeling anxiety, or I have depression,” Burress said. “What happens then is they don’t say it, and then their symptoms sort of increase and shift and change.”
The ARROW Project is one organization working with the Virginia Health Care Foundation’s “It Takes a Village” initiative to offer affordable, accessible mental health care, supported in part by Virginia’s 2025 ‘momnibus’ legislation.
“The purpose of that is to make sure that anybody that’s seeking services can access those services,” Burress said.
Burress said the organization’s services, support groups, and counseling work to normalize care and create long-standing pathways to access maternal mental health resources.
“We see you moms. We want to support you, moms. We want to make you getting to support as easy as possible,” Burress said.
You can find more information and resources supporting Maternal Mental health here.
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