Our overall goal at Mommy&Me is to partner with former patients, moms with experience giving birth in D.C. and other members of low-income Black communities to develop and test different approaches to overcome obstacles and achieve health equity by providing effective mental health screening and care. Our patient partners spoke loudly and clearly: It’s too difficult to get mental health care in D.C., and it ends too quickly. So, participants will remain in the study up to 12 months after delivery. And our Mommy&Me study also will include women who do not yet meet criteria for being diagnosed with major depression or anxiety.
Low-income pregnant women who are Black or of African descent, who are older than 18 years with a pregnancy of 28 weeks gestation or less. Study participants must speak English and receive prenatal care at George Washington University, Howard University or Unity Health Care
You will complete a number of questionnaires to assess your mood and overall health of you and your baby. This will occur during pregnancy and until your baby is 12 months old.
You will be randomly assigned to participate in the intervention. This means connecting with a maternity care specialist, receiving individual or group therapy, and an optional peer support group during and after your pregnancy. We anticipate these interventions will reduce depression, anxiety and stress that you may experience during and after pregnancy.
After your baby is born, we will meet with you and your newborn to ask about your infant’s health and development. We also will measure how you and your newborn are bonding. Our team will continue to monitor your baby’s development up to his or her first birthday.