We can all do our part to support our mothers and families here in New Hampshire and to prevent maternal deaths here.
Heather A. Martin, RMAFrom the start of pregnancy until her baby’s first birthday, more than one in five mothers will experience a mental health condition such as anxiety or depression. In New Hampshire, maternal mental health conditions are the primary contributing factor in maternal deaths. Despite these alarming statistics, maternal mental health concerns are under-resourced and subject to stigma in the Granite State and beyond.
At a press conference on May 7, Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) signed a proclamation establishing May 5-11 each year as Maternal Mental Health Week in New Hampshire. Experts from the New Hampshire Perinatal Quality Collaborative (NHPQC), a program of Dartmouth Health and the New Hampshire Division of Public Health Services (DPHS), say that designating a week to raise awareness and diminish stigma surrounding maternal mental health is a critical step in improving the healthcare system’s ability to screen, diagnose and support women experiencing these conditions.
Heather A. Martin, RMA, a medical assistant and maternal mental health coordinator with Dartmouth Health Children’s, was instrumental in the proclamation being made. After losing her sister to suicide brought on by postpartum psychosis, Martin has dedicated her life to improving maternal mental health outcomes in her home state of New Hampshire and across America. She championed the implementation of a screening and response process for new mothers bringing their infants for check-ups at her practice to determine if the mother is in need of mental health supports.
“When drafting the proclamation this year, it was so important to recognize the whole week instead of just one day, in order to highlight all of the important work being done with many stakeholders around the state,” Martin said. “We can all do our part to support our mothers and families here in New Hampshire and to prevent maternal deaths here. I have seen the progress over the past few years, and I am hopeful for the future with so many initiatives in the state.”
One of NHPQC’s key initiatives, in collaboration with DPHS, is implementing the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology’s Alliance for Implementation of Maternal Innovation (AIM). AIM’s Perinatal Mental Health Conditions program targets improving systems and educating healthcare providers to recognize and respond to women struggling with perinatal mental health conditions.
“The NHPQC is focused on building community perinatal coalitions,” said Julie S. Bosak, DrPH, CNM, MSN, director of NHPQC. “These coalitions bring healthcare providers, community organizations and patients together to collaboratively create a more patient-centered response where women feel more supported throughout this timeframe.”
To learn more about NHPQC and resources available, contact NHPQC@hitchcock.org.
About Dartmouth Health
Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire’s only academic health system and largest private employer, serves patients across New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,300 providers in nearly every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH. Its network of hospitals, outpatient centers, clinics and home care facilities, spans a broad geographical area. Year after year, DHMC is named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and is consistently recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, northern New England’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and one of less than than 60 total nationally; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes the state’s only children’s hospital (Children’s Hospital at DHMC/CHaD) and more than 20 locations around the region; eight member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene, Claremont, Hampstead, and New London, NH, and Windsor and Bennington, VT; Dartmouth Health Home Care; Dartmouth Health Connected Care Center for Telehealth, serving patients as far away as Texas; and more than 30 primary and multi-specialty clinics across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its partnership with Dartmouth College, Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and the White River Junction VA Medical Center, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials with international impact. Dartmouth Health and its more than 16,000 employees are committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in the communities it serves and to providing every patient with exceptional, state-of-the-art, personalized care. Learn more at dartmouth-health.org.