Madison Reporter

At the start of Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week, UW Health announced its involvement in a new statewide initiative aimed at supporting mental health during pregnancy and postpartum. The Perinatal Mental Health Initiative is led by the Illinois Perinatal Quality Collaborative and will see participation from obstetric physicians, nursing leaders, behavioral health staff, patients, and community partners. The program is set to commence at the end of May.

Perinatal mental health encompasses conditions such as depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, psychosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, and bipolar disorder that can arise during pregnancy or after childbirth. These conditions may be pre-existing or appear for the first time post-delivery.

The initiative aims to reduce stigma associated with seeking mental health care through education for both patients and providers. Jen Callison, director of Women and Children’s Services at UW Health in northern Illinois stated that the program will provide toolkits containing information to educate care teams on offering comprehensive perinatal mental health support.

“This initiative will take existing information and put it in one place for staff,” she said. “It will also enable us to do more screenings for patients to determine who needs what support.”

UW Health was among the first wave of hospitals in Illinois to preview these toolkits last year. They provided feedback as part of this three-year project which begins shortly.

Callison emphasized the importance of supporting patients throughout their journey: “Our focus is to support the patient wherever they are on their journey... We want the community to know that having perinatal mental health struggles is normal and common and that there is help available.”

Statistics from the Maternal Mental Health Alliance reveal that 20% of women face perinatal mental health issues while 70% conceal or underplay these difficulties. Additionally, 85% experience "baby blues," characterized by mood swings due to hormonal changes.

“These numbers are staggering and probably even higher in reality because most patients feel shame discussing their mental health challenges,” Callison remarked. “We believe supporting the entire family’s mental well-being during this time will lead to better outcomes for all.”

Symptoms indicating perinatal mental health challenges include changes in sleep patterns, mood swings, persistent sadness, thoughts of self-harm or harming the baby, among others.

“Every person’s experience is unique... That’s why we want staff to be thinking about these symptoms and signs,” Callison added.

In addition to participating in this initiative, UW Health employees are encouraged to wear a blue dot this week as part of the Blue Dot Project. This gesture aims to raise awareness about perinatal mental health issues while combating stigma associated with them.

“We are excited... we hope this initiative helps a lot of families,” Callison concluded. “When we talk about health during and after pregnancy, we want that conversation to include mental health.”

Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week runs from May 5-11.