DENVER — The Colorado Perinatal Mental Health Project is raising awareness about the mental health struggles faced by pregnant and postpartum women.
The organization highlighted a study that shows one in five women experience some mental health issue after having a baby.
Emely Romero shared her personal battle with postpartum anxiety and how therapy helped her.
"I would get up and deadbolt our door and then lock my room door because in my mind, if I deadbolted and locked doors, no one could get to us while we slept, and mind you, we lived in a gated apartment on the third floor," said Romero.
Once Romero’s son was 15 months old, she reached out for help and said therapy caused a positive shift in her life.
But Romero is not alone.
A new study from JAMA Internal Medicine shows a substantial decline in the mental health of mothers from 2016 to 2023.
"So when we see a study like this come out, we're really reminded of the prevalence of this issue, as well as the inequities and disproportionate impacts for the more vulnerable in our community," said Kristin Aaker, co-executive director of Colorado Perinatal Mental Health.
Aaker said her organization focuses on helping mothers during their pregnancy and postpartum experience.
"We offer prenatal class series, postpartum support groups, a monthly meet-up, including affinity spaces for Black and Spanish-speaking moms," she explained. "We also do resource provision, pointing people to resources outside of our organization that would be helpful."
While these resources are available, Aaker hopes that more will become accessible across all communities to improve the mental health of mothers.
"I think anything we can do to help support equitable access to high-quality resources and support options is going to benefit everyone," said Aaker.
For Romero, currently working as a mental health group facilitator, she hopes to be part of the solution.
"It's so important to get the support," said Romero. "There is a lot of options out there for support that can be free, low cost, or just insurance coverage."
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