Beyond Baby Blues: Understanding Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders

Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMAD) are mental health conditions that can occur during pregnancy or within a year after delivery. Many families feel afraid to talk about PMAD, but we want families to know that they are not alone, it's not anyone’s fault, and with support, things will get better.In this episode, host Jessica Stewart Gonzalez talks with Rachel Flater, the Postpartum Support International Support Coordinator, about differentiating normal feelings from disorders and how to support people with perinatal mood disorders.Host:Jessica Stewart-Gonzalez is the Chief of the Office of Children’s Health at the Arizona Department of Health Services. She is married, has two young children, and loves reading (anything except parenting books!) and watching movies and TV.  She loves to spend time with her kids (when they aren’t driving her crazy) and celebrating all of their little, and big, accomplishments. Jessica has been in the field of family and child development for over 20 years, working towards normalizing the hard work of parenting and making it easier to ask the hard questions.Links: Strong Families AZHost: Jessica Stewart-GonzalezGuest: Rachel FlaterPostpartum Support International: Helpline and over 25 FREE support groups under the Get Help tabArizona Perinatal Psychiatry Access Line: free service for medication providersNational Maternal Mental Health Hotline