We’ve had a few surreal moments in maternal mental health this fall, this one is definitely a moment that the maternal mental health community should be jumping up and down about.

In September the federal government’s Health and Human Services Agency (HRSA) announced it has awarded 4.5 million in grants to seven lucky states to address maternal mental health over five years (2018-2023).

Kate’s story:

GLOUCESTER COUNTY, NJ - I am a mom, a wife, a business-owner, an advocate. I am trained as a therapist (professional counselor) and my expertise is maternal mental health. I am driven by the desire to walk the journey with mothers as they rediscover themselves as their young families grow. Maternal mental health is directly linked to child mental health, children grow up to be adults. Start with moms seems like the best place to start if we want to make the world a better place.

Apple’s story:

LOS ANGELES, CA - I am a pediatric occupational therapist and a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar, a wife and a child and family advocate. As a pediatric occupational therapist, I am an advocate for children and families. Their vulnerability subjects them to circumstances outside of their choosing or control, and their experiences can have a lasting impact on their lives as well as on the generations after them.

Robin’s story:

I knew I wanted to work with children and families since I was 15 years old. I have fulfilled this goal in many different roles over my career as a social worker. I have been in search of a “life’s work” for many years and I have found it in maternal mental health. I have made a commitment to myself that I will do this work for the rest of my life in some capacity. There is so much needless suffering that would not occur if moms were better educated and stigma was less. My drive comes . . .

Bridget’s story:

As a nurse and midwife, I have been passionate about helping moms and babies for as long as I can remember. I am currently a PhD student at Yale School of Nursing with a focus on maternal mental health and illness, and I am a Robert Wood Johnson Future of Nursing Scholar. I believe that healthy mother-child dyads are foundational to healthy communities and key to making the world a better place.

Elyse’s story:

LOS ANGELES, CA - Long before working in perinatal mental health, I was a clinician working with trauma - but because therapists and clinicians aren't regularly trained in maternal mental health, I was completely unaware and unprepared for the wallop of postpartum PTSD following the emergency c-section of my first child. Unfortunately, none of my care providers had MMH training themselves, and it took a lot of tears and my own research to figure out . . .