VRT2 - Reducing Stigma Around Maternal Mental Health and Asking More Questions to Grow the Conversation
Monday, April 15, 2024
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM PT
An online agenda could look like many of the topics previously mentioned. They could discuss many of the stigmas around maternal mental health and the reality of support during this challenging transition. I think the discussion should also include nutrition, sleep, dull care, and proper medical care during this time. Part of my discussion and paper was on the discrepancies between the DSM definition of postpartum depression and a major depressive disorder or episode. I think that correlation should be discussed more in-depth. My paper roughly scrapes the surface of this topic, which could be very beneficial in the discussion and the development of postpartum depression being seen as more than just depressive episodes symptoms within 12 months before giving birth. I do not necessarily believe that this does postpartum depression the justice it deserves. I think it needs to be considered a way of reinforcing society's ideas and stigmas in specific mental health practices. Most birthing people tend to go to care once or twice after giving birth, which does not allow medical providers to catch any postpartum symptoms. Yes, they often fill out a form. Still, many of these individuals are embarrassed about how they feel, and they do not realize that many of these emotions coming up during this time are normal and that there are resources for them if they open up about the struggles they are currently going through. This is probably an easier-said-than-done example, but it is worth the effort and the acknowledgment. I think an online agenda could also provide some opportunity to discuss new mom groups and potentially the offering of new mom groups in the medical field because it is often word of mouth. If you do not have friends with newborn children, you cannot access these new mom groups. If you are isolated in a rural area, you will not have access to new mom groups or resources supporting individuals suffering from postpartum depression. I want to provide some basic pamphlets, whether that be through e-mail or during the conversation itself, maybe a PowerPoint that looks at some definitions of postpartum depression and looks at some care statistics throughout the United States. Especially looking at lower socioeconomic classes and individuals of color, I think it could be beneficial to discuss some situations where medical care was not initiated or birth rates in the United States about people of color and postpartum rates about people of color because more likely they are not going to be very accurate. We are going to see a vast discrepancy. I could go on, but the primary focus for an online agenda should be support, and it should be basic definitions and understandings of postpartum depression, the reality of postpartum depression, and the normality of this transition.