May is Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month, and 1 in 5 women experience mental health concerns during pregnancy and after childbirth, but most go undetected and untreated. Rachel Diamond, Ph.D., LMFT, PMH-C, assistant professor of couple and family therapy at Adler University, focuses her academic work, research, and private practice on addressing maternal mental health.
Maternal mental health disorders have significant long-term impacts not just on the well-being of the person who gave birth but, when untreated, on the whole family. Research demonstrates the potential for physical and emotional impacts on infants as well as impaired mother-infant bonding. Perhaps the most startling and disturbing data is related to maternal mortality. In the U.S., the maternal mortality rate is more than twice that of most other developed countries. A majority of maternal suicide or overdose deaths are caused by a lack of behavioral healthcare. This underscores just how significant failing to diagnose and treat a maternal mental illness can be: sometimes a matter of life and death.
Dr. Diamond can discuss signs of a maternal mental health concern, as well as tips for what to do if you or someone you know needs help.
