Maternal Mental Health Newsletter
Fall 2021
A Guide to Maternal Mental Health in the District
Dear Colleagues,

Happy Fall! We hope you are finding time to get some fresh air and enjoy the new energy found in the changing of the seasons. There have been many exciting happenings in the perinatal mental health space since our last newsletter that we are pleased to share with you along with some upcoming Mary’s Center events. Please see below!
News & Events
Events
REGISTRATION OPEN SOON for the 2021 DMV Perinatal Mental Health Symposium!

Join us for the 2021 DMV Perinatal Mental Health Symposium to be held virtually on Monday, November 8, 2021! This year’s theme is “Trauma and Healing”, and our goal is to increase awareness of the trauma experienced by people during the perinatal period and the unique and innovative prevention and treatment efforts occurring in the DMV. Registration will open in early October, so please be on the lookout for the registration link!
Join us for our next PMH Project ECHO meeting

Have you heard of our Project EHCO? It is an innovative knowledge sharing virtual learning space that enables practitioners to come together in an “all teach, all learn” model to strengthen our perinatal mental health care in the DMV. Please join us for our next ECHO meeting on October 25th at 11am! Use the link below to register and receive additional information about our Mary’s Center PMH ECHO meetings.
Mayor Bowser held the fourth annual National Maternal & Infant Health Summit on September 15th, 2021. The event focused on on connecting residents to local resources to support the health and wellbeing of families in the D.M.V. Use this link to watch recorded pre-summit discussions on perinatal loss, the intersection of PMH and early childhood mental health, surrogacy, and more!

The Wilson Center is hosting a virtual webinar on perinatal mental health with panelists including Kay Matthews, founder of the Shades of Blue Project who served as the plenary speaker at last year’s DMV Perinatal Mental Health Symposium. Use this link to learn more and register.

The Shades of You, Shades of Me Multicultural Mental Health Conference will be held virtually on October 6-8, 2021.

The Zero to Three Annual Conference will be held virtually on October 25-29. This year’s theme is “Take Heart”.
Have you heard?
September is Suicide Awareness Month. Check out this Maternal Suicide Fact Sheet from MMHLA and spread the word about suicide + overdose as the combined leading causes of death in the first year postpartum. Other useful MMHLA fact sheets about perinatal mental health can be found here.

Renee Smith Richardson of the Black Mamas Matter Alliance published a new article titled What States Can Do to Improve Black Maternal Mental Health published by the Century Foundation. 

Dove personal care company is partnering with organizations like Black Mamas Matter Alliance to support Black pregnant people in accessing birth doula support through the Black Birth Equity Fund. Learn more and find the application here.
Resources
Mary's Center pregnancy & postpartum support group
Mary’s Center is currently hosting a weekly combined pregnancy and postpartum, drop-in, virtual support group in English every Monday from 5pm-6pm. A new Spanish-speaking group is being added to the schedule within the next month. Contact us if you would like to refer a client for either group! (D.C. and M.D. clients only please).
PSI Virginia has a number of weekly (virtual) support group options for postpartum people: See here for the weekly group schedule.

Looking for a specific PMH-related resource in our community? Use the DMV PMH Resource Guide from the DC Metro Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative! Here you can search for providers, support groups, advocacy groups and other resources supporting perinatal mental health in our community!

Stay up-to-date with perinatal health and mental health legislation using the new AMCHP Maternal Health Bill Tracker
Local Resources

Maternal Mental Health
202-545-2061


George Washington
Five Trimesters Clinic
202-741-2888

Postpartum Support International  
(PSI) DC Chapter 
Assistance with 
linkage to care
202-643-7290

Washington Hospital Center
Perinatal psychiatrist and 
clinician embedded in 
Obstetric (OB) clinic
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND RESOURCES
Visit the resource guide  on the DC Health Check site. 
See pages 43-47 for local perinatal mental health resources. 
To search for private practice clinicians, visit DMV PMH Resource Guide
Newsletter Purpose & Partners
This newsletter aims to strengthen existing pathways for information exchange and referral resources.  

Perinatal/Maternal Mental Health clinicians and advocates, as well as allied professionals, continue to improve the perinatal mental health landscape in the DC area through efforts such as education/advocacy, increased screening of women in the pediatric and obstetric settings, perinatal mental health specific resources/referrals, and pathways for communication and networking.  

We welcome your thoughts and input about how to make this newsletter most valuable to you in your work of supporting women and families in the District and surrounding metro area!   

If you have information, events, or other communications you'd like to have sent out via the newsletter, please email mmh@maryscenter.org. We want this resource to serve you as you support women/families!
This newsletter is supported by the generous funding of the 
and in collaboration with the DC Metro Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative & PSI D