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As we come to the end of May and reflect on Maternal Mental Health Month, it’s an opportune moment to highlight the importance of supporting moms and birthing persons in their mental well-being. Motherhood is a profound and transformative journey, that is also accompanied by unique challenges, including the potential impact on mental health. The period of pregnancy and the first year of motherhood, known as the perinatal period, is highly susceptible to mental health issues. Perinatal mental health conditions are the most common complications of pregnancy and childbirth and are linked to higher rates of infant and maternal mortality, family fragmentation, lack of prenatal care, low social support, financial and housing instability, co-occurring health complications, unmanageable job strain, difficulty meeting maternal role expectations, and childhood or perinatal trauma, including domestic or sexual abuse. The physical, emotional, environmental, and hormonal changes during this time can make birthing persons vulnerable to conditions such as prenatal and postpartum depression, anxiety disorders, and postpartum psychosis. Mental health during pregnancy and the postpartum period is also influenced by social determinants and structural factors, including racism, socioeconomic status, and access to quality healthcare.
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