I’m happy to share that this week (February 3-9, 2013) is Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week in the state of Georgia, as proclaimed by Governor Nathan Deal. Kudos to Mental Health America of Georgia’s Project Healthy Moms and the newly formed Georgia Coalition on Maternal Mental Health for working so hard to make it happen. Here are some of the activities taking place:
- Advocates for maternal mental health will meet at the Georgia Capitol on February 6th at 3:00pm. If you’d like to be there to press your state government officials to do more for healthy families, meet them at the Coverdell Legislative Office Building room 606, 18 Capitol Square SW, Atlanta, GA, 30334.
- You can learn about maternal mental health at Northside Hospital’s cafeteria on February 7th from 11am-2pm, where they will be providing information about perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs), as well as information about local resources.
- The Project Healthy Moms Warmline, which provides peer support for Georgia residents who may be experiencing PMADs, will be offered in Spanish starting this week!
- County health departments and home visiting programs throughout Georgia will be receiving e-toolkits with information about screening and resources supporting maternal mental health.
- Project Healthy Moms is partnering with the March of Dimes NICU program to provide new mothers with information about local mental health resources.
- The Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies February newsletter will feature an article about maternal mental health written by the Project Healthy Moms Program Manager.
Please contact Liz Smulian (liz@mhageorgia.org ) for more information about Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week in Georgia, and visit the website to learn more about Project Healthy Moms and resources for healthcare providers and pregnant and postpartum women.
