Maternal Mental Health

Overview
According to the World Health Organization, worldwide about 10% of pregnant women and 13% of women who have just given birth experience a mental disorder, primarily depression. In developing countries this is even higher (15.6% during pregnancy and 19.8% after child birth). The Implementation Science Collaborative (ISC) is working to bridge research and policy gaps between respectful maternal care and mental health and psychosocial support.

Critical Conversations: International Maternal Newborn Health Conference (IMNHC) 2023
During IMNHC 2023, ISC partners facilitated important discussion on maternal mental health evidence and emerging policy action by drawing from examples in Sub-Saharan Africa. Moderated by University Research Co., LLC, the session, entitled “Advancing Evidence to Practice for Maternal Mental Health: Lessons learned from the Africa region,” convened the University of California San Francisco, the City University of New York, the East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community; and the Infectious Diseases Institute. Learn more about the session here.

Check out our Maternal Mental Health playlist on You Tube, which illustrates the Baby Friendly Spaces program, maternal depression treatment in HIV (M-DEPTH), and provider mental health in respectful maternal care.

The Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Learning Collaborative hosted a webinar which examines ways to strengthen maternal mental health in special populations.