SO, I just posted a “What We’re Reading” blog post a week ago, but I have more to share. Here are some of the highlights: More about the gut-biome brain connection, the latest article by our favorite journalist, April Dembosky. April calls out that America is lacking adequate inpatient treatment facilities for mothers and their babies, that reimbursement is an issue, and how lack of sleep is a public health emergency.

Kaiser Health News: Postpartum Psychosis is Rare, Real, and Dangerous

There had been no crime after all — Lisa Abramson’s destination that day wasn’t a jail cell, but rather the general psychiatric ward at Sutter Health’s California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. The other patients were there for drug overdoses or alcohol withdrawal. People were screaming. Read it here.

Janessa's story:

SPRINGFIELD, NJ –

Q: How are you involved with 2020 Mom?

A: Ambassador, Completed the MMH Certification class

Q: 2020 Mom’s mission is to close gaps in maternal mental health care. What’s your big hope for how 2020 Mom can fulfill this bold mission?

A: The diagnosis gap seems so large, but with 2020 Mom advocating for the OBGYNs to be the primary physician in Maternal Mental Healthcare, and also asking Pediatricians to be on the lookout during a woman’s entrance into motherhood, I think they will be able to catch more people who are struggling. I remember just wanting someone to ask me or to notice that I was not operating at my full capacity. I was not finding the joy of motherhood that everyone talked about and I didn’t want to admit it. I hope that as 2020 Mom works with healthcare teams, policy makers, insurance companies, and individuals the barriers of stigma surrounding Maternal Mental Health will break down and more women will speak up and not suffer in silence.

Here are articles that caught Joy’s eye this month:

One of my favorite things to do is comb through articles that come across my desk (more like kitchen counter, where I work) from various sources. Here are the articles that I picked to share with you this month.

Wired: Virtual Reality’s Latest Use: Diagnosing Mental Illness?

Diagnosing psychiatric and neurological conditions is tricky. Physicians have long reported that diagnoses are fraught with complications and subtleties. Anywhere from 35 percent to 85 percent of mental health conditions go undetected and undiagnosed, according to the World Health Organization, depending on where you live on the planet. Needless to say, to treat depression, Alzheimer's, or autism, it must first be detected. Now clinicians and researchers are trying a new tool: virtual reality. Read it here.

This week, I head to Washington DC to meet with members of Congress about maternity care.

I will be joined by several colleagues from non-profit organizations, including leaders from groups like Every Mother Counts, The Preeclampsia Foundation, Improving Birth and March for Moms. With more women ever serving in congress, it’s a particularly exciting time to address women’s health and maternity issues.

We have been asked to share what we believe should be the highest priorities in improving maternity care. This includes maternal mental health.

If I were in position to write two federal laws, this is what I’d write.

Wow, 2018!

I'm pleased to share our 2018 Impact Report infographic and some of our 2018 highlights below.

If you have followed our work, you know our most celebrated accomplishment was our sponsorship and the passage of three pieces of key maternal mental health legislation. These bills made up the most comprehensive MMH legislative package ever.

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).