Improve Mental Health for Mothers and Families

Nearly 16 years ago, the tragic deaths of the five children of Andrea and Rusty Yates helped create a new era in women’s mental health.  Today, as a society, we recognize and more closely focus on maternal mental health and associated issues such as education, awareness, legislation, treatment and care of mothers affected with perinatal mental illnesses including postpartum depression (PPD) and the even more serious postpartum psychosis.  While we are making strides in this area of women’s health, the realization is so much more still needs to be done.  A mother’s mental health is critical to the physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing of herself and her children.

For Houstonians, the Yates tragedy happened in our hometown, in our backyard, but it impacted the world.  But, for the more than a decade and a half since this family’s loss, the Yates Children Memorial Fund (YCMF) for Women’s Mental Health Education at Mental Health America of Greater Houston and a core group of mental health and primary care professionals and organizations are helping create a generation of empowered mothers and a community energized to change the landscape of women’s mental health in our city and state.

This May is National Mental Health Month and also Texas Postpartum Depression Awareness Month.  Advocates in Houston and across the Lone Star State are raising public awareness on the serious impact untreated or under-treated postpartum depression can have on the safety and healthy development of our state’s mothers, children and families.

With program efforts dedicated to perinatal mental health and family wellness the collective efforts of this group, primarily comprised of volunteers, to educate women, mothers and those who encounter mothers to understand postpartum mental health issues, to eliminate stigma that prevents some mothers from seeking help, and to identify resources available to help mothers before, during and after a crisis.  As a group, the volunteer efforts of YCMF includes educating and training thousands of mental health and primary care professionals and  professionals newly entering the workforce, improving mental health literacy of more than one million mothers and families through the distribution of informational brochures hosting an international perinatal mental health conference in Houston.

This year, the Yates Children Memorial Fund for Women’s Mental Health Education at Mental Health America of Greater Houston, celebrates the Year of the Mom and powerful advocacy stance of mothers helping mothers to elevate the awareness of issues associated with the cause.  This May, YCMF debuts its first ever feature short film on postpartum depression. The film, created as an educational companion piece for community-based trainings, workshops and presentations, will be made available to the public through the Yates Children Memorial Fund for Women’s Mental Health Education at Mental Health America of Greater Houston.  It features the postpartum depression experiences of area mothers, Molly Hackett LaFauci, a dedicated volunteer in the field of behavioral and mental health and LaShonta Edwards, founder and director of A Mother’s Sanctuary.

Additionally, Aarti Sequeira, winner of Food Network’s number-one series, The Next Food Network Star, and host of the cooking-variety show, Aarti Paarti, will share her personal experience and journey through postpartum depression and how she has become a powerful advocate for maternal mental health at the “Year of the Mom,” dinner event on May 11 from 5-7 pm at MATCH Theater in Houston.  She is also slated to participate as a panelist along with LaFauci, Edwards and leading mental health experts, Rhoda Seplowitz, a psychiatrist and diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Inc., and member of the American Board of Medical Specialties;  Patricia Perrin, PhD,  a licensed psychologist in Texas, specializing in treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety disorders; and Lorissa Eichenberger a mother of four, and self-proclaimed, “birth nerd,” with a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy.

Postpartum depression is the most common complication of childbirth. It is a serious illness that affects the quality of life of approximately 1 in 8 women. Research shows, a woman is at the highest risk in her lifetime of developing a new mental illness in the first year after a baby is born. At least 15 percent of new mothers experience significant postpartum mood disorders and many more report important difficulties in coping and adjusting.

We encourage others to join the efforts to improve mental health for mothers and families.  Volunteers are needed to identify risk factors, develop and deliver culturally appropriate trainings to ensure that all women experiencing perinatal mental health issues are properly screened, diagnosed and treated.

Learn more online at http://www.mhahouston.org/womens-mental-health/.