How Folding Mental Health Services into Maternal and Infant Care Can Help Low-Income Families

REWIRE  

How Folding Mental Health Services into Maternal and Infant Care Can Help Low-Income Families

January 13, 2017 - When Dr. Catherine Monk trained as a clinical psychologist, she began looking for ways to improve the well-being of pregnant people and their future children’s lives. Part of her vision included offsetting the stigma associated with postpartum depression. Monk realized that vision in the integration of behavioral health services into primary care. Dr. Monk and her colleagues have developed Practical Resources for Effective Postpartum Parenting (PREPP), an ongoing clinical trial at the medical center aimed at preventing postpartum depression by providing behavioral and prenatal support to low-income women. “We still have a lot of mental health stigma in our country, and since our focus is on both the mother and baby, it removes the unfortunate shame that women feel about seeking treatment,” Monk said.