Mental Health: The Missing Piece in Maternal Health Series

A recent systematic review found that one in four women in low- and middle-income countries suffered from prenatal depression, and roughly one in five suffered from postpartum depression. Additional efforts are needed to identify risk factors and develop…

Women in low- and middle-income countries are faced with a double burden: they are at greater risk of experiencing perinatal depression compared to women in high-income countries, and they are also less likely to get the care they need. Even in…

Given that perinatal mental disorders are one of the most common complications of childbirth and affect such a large proportion of women in the U.S. and around the world, additional research efforts are warranted. Evidence suggests that certain women,…

By: Laura Line, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Maternity Care Coalition This post is part of “Mental Health: The Missing Piece in Maternal Health,” a blog series co-hosted by the MHTF, the Mental Health Innovation Network at the…

By: Tricia Bolender, Faculty and Senior Improvement Advisor, Institute for Healthcare Improvement This month on October 10th, we celebrate Mental Health Day. Indeed, there is much to celebrate, from the development of the WHO’s Comprehensive Mental…

In South Africa, 47% of pregnant women and 34% of women after birth in low-income settings experience maternal depression. Despite the high prevalence, there is no state-provided programmatic response. Resolved to develop a meaningful response to this…

This blog post starts in Goa. Not at the white beaches, but in the antenatal clinic at Asilo hospital in Mapusa where women in all stages of pregnancy are queuing up for antenatal check-ups. It is one of the busy days at the hospital, with women…

The majority of developing countries have a high prevalence of maternal depression ranging from18-25%. Countries with a high prevalence of maternal depression need a universal approach to maternal psychosocial well-being during pregnancy and in the…

Recognition that pregnant and postpartum women living in resource-constrained low- and lower-middle income countries can experience mental health problems is growing. However, a double disparity remains. First, prevalence of mental health problems among…

How do we talk about mental illness in pregnancy? Well, we don’t. Not that we don’t know about it at all; pregnancy-related mental illness, for the most part, is well-recognised culturally. But it’s not what mothers talk about while they work and watch…