Project Summary:
Perinatal mental health is a significant public health issue that affects not only birthing people (individuals who give birth regardless of their gender identity) but also a multitude of systems, including families, employers, and society at large. During the perinatal period, 1 in 7 women experience major or minor depressive episodes, and 1 in 5 women experience symptoms of some type of mental health disorder. For women of color, these rates are even higher, with approximately 2 in 5 women of color experiencing postpartum depression, linked to increases in preterm birth, low birth weight, infant mortality, and maternal mortality.
In Wisconsin, the maternal mortality rate for Black women is five times that of non-Hispanic White women, and Health Compass Milwaukee (2020) has found that rates of low birth weight, preterm births, and infant mortality rates are significantly higher in Milwaukee County than the overall rates in Wisconsin, especially for Black women/birthing people. Thus, there is a need to address perinatal mental health disparities that could have a large societal impact.
Our proposal plans to disseminate an expanded culturally-informed preventative postpartum depression intervention given during pregnancy across 5 sessions based on a previously empirically tested model. This intervention, termed Growing Bonds, can be given by any health care worker, including staff and community health workers, and thus is easily disseminated across Milwaukee and WI. We will develop both a live and asynchronous training and train staff in 5-6 clinics and community organizations across Milwaukee. We will then evaluate the effectiveness of the training and the Growing Bonds intervention with birthing people and integrate feedback to inform future interventions. This proposal proposes a sustainable model of perinatal mental health prevention that will reach underserved populations to directly address disparities in perinatal health outcomes in Milwaukee and across WI.
Community Partners: Marquette University/ Psychology, Licensed Psychologist, and women’s health integrated care psychologist at the Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center