The Maternal Mental Health Crisis

Let’s get political folks! As mental health overall has gotten more attention in the media over the last 4 years, so has the very important topic of PMADs, or Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders. After the latest CDC findings on the alarming maternal mortality rate, many facets of government are starting to pay attention to mothers and birthing individuals and the toll that pregnancy and child-rearing can take on their mental health.Today, we have a returning guest on the show, Paige Bellenbaum, LCSW. Paige is the Founding Director and Chief External Relations Officer at The Motherhood Center of New York. She discusses the baby steps that are being taken to protect and elevate mothers in NY and America at large, although she points out that it is just a drop in the ocean of change that is required to truly support mothers in this country. She touches on some new research and statistics that have shockingly helped change the narrative on maternal support. We discuss the highly divisive and high-tension topics surrounding motherhood and child care in America during a very heated election year. For 20 years, Paige worked in the non-profit sector, holding senior leadership positions at Hamilton Family Center Homeless Shelter, The Partnership for the Homeless, Habitat for Humanity, and Settlement Housing Fund. She has worked in the field of public policy, advocacy, community organizing and direct practice with disadvantaged communities including homeless families and incarcerated young adults and has held several appointed and elected political positions including the District Leader of Brooklyn’s 52nd Assembly District. After her first child was born, Paige suffered from severe postpartum depression and anxiety that nearly ended her life. However, once she began to heal, she became committed to fighting for PMAD education, screening, and treatment so that no more women would have to suffer silently. She drafted legislation in New York State championed by State Senator Liz Krueger, mandating hospitals to provide education on PMADs and strongly encouraging screening of all new and expecting mothers. This bill was signed into law in 2014. She has continued to be an outspoken maternal mental health advocate and clinician and uses her story as a tool for change. Paige works closely with multiple New York City agencies on maternal mental health best practice and policy, including the NYPD, DOHMH’s Maternal Hospital Quality Improvement Network, and the Nurse Family Partnership, and the Administration for Children’s Services.  She was a member of the NYC Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee and currently sits on the NYS Maternal Mental Health Working Group. She has appeared on the Today Show, Good Morning America, NPR, PBS Newshour, Fortune, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.Connect with her at:themotherhoodcenter.com