The month of May is Women’s Health Month, Mental Health Awareness Month and Mother’s Day, so it’s a good time to focus on maternal mental health, and how pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period can affect women’s health.
Having a baby can bring out a variety of emotions from joy and elation, to feeling overwhelmed, anxious or down or having the baby blues.
In Utah, one in three women will experience either depression during pregnancy, anxiety during pregnancy, or postpartum depression according to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System.
And it’s not just moms that can experience those emotions or conditions. Dads, partners, and family members can experience them too.
“Having a baby is a significant change in life and so it’s a time when moms can be more at risk for having behavioral health concerns. Add hormone fluctuations, a lack of good sleep, the demands of taking care of a newborn, or unmet expectations on top of that and you may be at risk for mood changes,” said Denise Lash, behavioral health therapist director at Intermountain Health.
According to behavioral health experts, if you’re not feeling like yourself for two or three weeks after having a baby or find it difficult to care for yourself or your infant, it could be something more than the baby blues.
“We hear a lot about postpartum depression, but perinatal mood and anxiety disorders can occur anytime during pregnancy through one year postpartum. Those with a personal or family history of mental health conditions are at increased risk,” said Lash. “In addition to depression, perinatal mood disorders include anxiety, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and psychosis.”
The postpartum period is a time when moms need emotional, social support. And if they had a traumatic birth experience or have a baby in a neonatal intensive care unit, that can add additional stress.
For all of these reasons, Intermountain Health has integrated or connected behavioral health providers into 12 women’s health clinics across Utah. Both women’s health and family medicine clinics do mental health screenings at the first visit.
“These clinics which integrate women’s health with behavioral health are like a one-stop shop for both physical and emotional needs during pregnancy, which is a big advantage for patients and providers,” said Lash.
Advantages of having a behavioral health provider in an OB-GYN or primary care clinic
It increases the likelihood that patients will access behavioral health services.Reduces the stigma of needing behavioral health services. It’s part of prenatal or primary care.It’s a one-stop shop for physical and emotional needs.After childbirth when women have typically reached their medical insurance deductible, they’re more likely to access behavioral health servicesIt helps providers better know who they’re referring patients to for behavioral health services
Early detection can reduce the duration and severity of symptoms or prevent the need for more intensive treatment later. Providers help inform moms to-be so they can keep an eye out for mental health symptoms.
For help finding mental health resources call Intermountain’s behavioral health navigation line at 1-833-442-2211 or to find a provider visit the Women’s Health or Behavioral Health pages on intermountainhealth.org