Dear Colleagues,

Happy Fall! Thank you for your continued support and partnership with our program. We are grateful to engage in this meaningful work alongside of such brilliant and dedicated community partners. There are so many exciting events and opportunities occurring in the coming months.

Please see below for program updates, resources and PMH-related trainings and events.

Don't miss your chance to register for the 2022 Perinatal Mental Health Symposium!

When: 

Monday, October 24, 2022

8:45am–5:15pm

Where:

Virtual

Who:

We aim to bring together a multi-disciplinary group of professionals, and we also encourage attendance of people who have perinatal mental health lived experience or a loved one with lived experience during this period. You are the true experts and enrich and inform the work of all providers. 

About the Theme:

This year’s theme is “And Justice for All.” You will leave the Symposium with expanded awareness of the systemic factors that impact perinatal people's lived experiences and increase risk factors for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders in the communities we serve. Our agenda will implore attendees to consider the question, “What does justice look like?” while offering innovative and timely solutions to improve outcomes and increase equitable access to culturally affirming perinatal health and mental health care.

After you register, you can visit the event website or app to begin engaging in networking opportunities such as:

• Introducing yourself through an Icebreaker.
• Seeing attendees that may interest you based on location, job title or interests
• Submitting questions for our sponsors, speakers or organizers.

Within the Virtual Community Board you can:

• Message other attendees, introduce yourself and start a conversation!
• Plan virtual or in-person meet-up with other attendees.
• Share perinatal mental health resources, job postings, events or articles.
• Post a question or start a conversation about perinatal mental health topics.

Please email pmh@maryscenter.org with any questions about the Symposium or Speaker Proposal form. We can’t wait to see you there!

Join us for our next PMH Project ECHO meeting!

Have you heard of our Project ECHO? 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.

We will not be having an ECHO for the month of October due to our Perinatal Mental Health Symposium. Our next ECHO will be held on November 14 from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm and Lori Mihalich-Levin will be exploring the intersection of family leave policy and perinatal mental health.

Email Austyn Holleman at AHolleman@maryscenter.orgfor additional ECHO information or if you are interested in presenting at a future meeting!

Use this link to register and receive additional information about our Mary’s Center PMH ECHO meetings.

The Maternal Mental Health Hotline

1-833-9-HELP4MOMS or 1-833-943-5746

The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline provides 24 / 7 / 365 voice and text support in English and Spanish before, during, and after pregnancy. MMHLA has been the lead organization advocating for implementation and funding for this much-needed resource.

To watch the 1-hour webinar sharing info about the new national mental health hotlines, click here. To access webinar materials, click here. 

The National Council for Mental Well-being provides a range of evidence-based resources, training opportunities and customized support for implementing integrated care practices, including: Access for Everyone: A Toolkit for Addressing Health Equity and Racial Justice within Integrated Care Settings. They also offer resources and tools to assess organizational readiness, building the business case and workforce development.

For more information visit Learning Collaborative and ECHO opportunities.

The D.C. Mother-Baby Wellness Program offers PMH screening, care coordination, therapy services and more to support D.C. residents who are pregnant and up to 6 months postpartum and receive their medical care in the District. 

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

Webinar: Maternal Suicide in the U.S. (2020 Mom).

Maternal suicide is a leading cause of maternal mortality. With efforts made by the policy organization, 2020 Mom, and the CDC, the U.S. has made significant progress on tracking and reporting maternal suicide rates. However, the work to identify maternal suicides is left to the states through reviews conducted in Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC) settings. Additionally, state-based Perinatal Quality Collaboratives (PQCs) are generally charged with facilitating change based on MMRC findings.

This webinar will take place on September 28, 2022 at 3 PM ET / 11 AM PT. Click here to register! 

Connecting the Community for Maternal Health Challenge

The purpose of this Challenge is to encourage and reward non-profit advocacy and/or community-based organizations to develop capabilities to pursue research projects in the area of maternal health. The goal is to empower 501(c)3 non-profit organizations to acquire skills and abilities to become partners in and contribute to future NIH-funded maternal health research activities.

Applications are due September 29. Click here to learn more.

NCRP Advanced: An Intensive Practicum

The National Curriculum in Reproductive Psychiatry (NCRP) presents this practical, intensive, comprehensive, case-based workshop (2.5 days). Participants will learn to diagnose and treat psychiatric illness during pregnancy, postpartum, infertility, loss, the premenstrual period, and perimenopause.

This event will take place on October 7-9, 2022, in Pittsburgh, PA. Click here to learn more.

Perinatal Loss: Clinical and Supportive Care - Philadelphia, PA (USA)

Postpartum Support International (PSI) is excited to announce the launch of this comprehensive perinatal loss training for birth workers, therapists, nurses, and other psychotherapy and medical providers. This course takes you into the world of perinatal loss, inclusive of miscarriage, stillbirth, complex congenital anomalies, and pregnancy decision making. Participants will explore trauma-informed strategies, clinical techniques, and practical interventions to support bereaved parents, families, and providers impacted by loss. Joanna Cole and Dvora Entin are content and clinical experts in the field of perinatal death and infant loss and will discuss interventions across the spectrum of care. Join them in this collaborative, practical, and research-grounded learning experience.

Due to the highly sensitive nature of the subject matter, and to support interactive discussion and self-reflective practice, attendance will be limited to 75 participants. Register here.

Virtual Webinar: Working with Disordered Eating & Poor Body Image when Providing Perinatal Mental Health Services.

Will be facilitated By: Tara Deliberto Ph.D. on Thursday, March 9, 2023 - 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM EST. This event is approved for 4 Contact Hours. Register here.

Birth Trauma and the Professional:

August 31 — October 5 / Hybrid / Wed 12—1:30 pm ET

Hosted by Center for Prenatal and Perinatal Programs. Click here to learn more.

Educational Events Fall 2022 / Virtual:

• Spotlight on Advanced Topics in Women's Mental Health / September 19 — November 7
• Perinatal Psychiatry: Treatment During Pregnancy and Postpartum / October 20 / 8:30am—3:30pm ET
• Psychiatric Disorders in Women: Diagnostic and Treatment Considerations Across the Female Lifespan / November 7 — December 26. Click here to learn more.

MADRES member Aeriell Armas, published "A Call to Explore Thrivership among Latina Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence from an Intersectional Lens" in the Summer edition of Trauma Psychology News. Read more here

MMHLA hosted a webinar on Wednesday, September 7 with a panel of speakers addressing suicide and overdose as the leading cause of death for new mothers.

The recording and presentations are available here.

Karen Sheffield-Abdullah, PhD, RN, CNM, who is an expert on stress and anxiety among Black women, recently talked with Adrienne Griffen, MMHLA Executive Director, about the Superwoman Schema. Dr. Sheffield-Abdullah shares her thoughts on how even women like Serena Williams are impacted by the Superwoman Schema. Read MMHLA’s blog post to learn more!