Maternal Mental Health Month—A Time to Raise Awareness and Strengthen Support Understanding Perinatal Mental Health Conditions

Each May, Maternal Mental Health Month offers an opportunity to raise awareness about a critical but often overlooked aspect of maternal and child health—emotional well-being during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Mental health is not only a vital part of maternal and infant health, but also essential to family well-being and healthy communities.

Perinatal mental health conditions are common, affecting one in five pregnancies.¹ These conditions affect how a person feels, thinks, copes, and functions. Although postpartum depression is the most widely recognized perinatal mental health condition, other conditions include anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, and postpartum psychosis. Symptoms of perinatal health conditions may develop during pregnancy, soon after birth, or later in the postpartum year, making ongoing awareness and support essential. Recognizing behavioral health needs early and connecting families to care can promote healthier outcomes for parents, babies, and communities.

Perinatal Mental Health Conditions Are Often Overlooked

Despite their prevalence, perinatal mental health conditions are often underrecognized and undertreated. Many providers and clinics do not routinely screen for maternal mental health conditions as part of standard care. In addition, maternity care deserts—areas with limited maternity care resources—can make it even harder for perinatal patients to receive the support they need.

Several other factors can contribute to delayed recognition and treatment. Symptoms may be dismissed as “normal stress” or part of adjusting to pregnancy or caring for a newborn. Some people may feel pressure to appear happy even when they are struggling. Additionally, stigma and fear of judgment can discourage people from seeking help, while uncertainty about where to turn for care can create additional barriers.

A Shared Responsibility Across Systems

Untreated maternal mental health conditions can have long-lasting impacts on pregnant and postpartum women, babies, and families. Integrating behavioral health services into prenatal and postpartum care, however, can reduce barriers, improve screening, decrease stigma, and increase early intervention. 

Improving maternal mental health requires coordinated systems of care that connect clinical services, behavioral health support, and community-based resources while meeting families where they are. Public health, health care, and human services systems all play an important role. Support may include care coordination, community-based services, therapy, peer support, and medication. Practical supports—such as transportation, childcare, and family assistance—can also help make care accessible, family-centered, and easier to navigate. 

Working at the intersection of maternal and child health and behavioral health, JBS supports initiatives that help families connect to timely, coordinated, and responsive care. We have decades of experience working alongside federal, state, and community partners to strengthen systems through maternal and child health, behavioral health, technical assistance (TA), health communication, and systems improvement efforts. For example, JBS provides TA to support programs integrating mental and behavioral health into maternal health and pediatric primary care, helping to expand providers’ capacity to screen, assess, treat, and refer pregnant and postpartum women for mental health and substance use disorders. JBS also provides TA to organizations receiving federal grant funding, supporting them in their efforts to address the impact of substance use during pregnancy and expand services for pregnant women in rural communities.

These efforts reflect a broader commitment to strengthening systems of care that support maternal mental health before, during, and after pregnancy. This Maternal Mental Health Month, we have an opportunity to do more than raise awareness. We can help build stronger systems of care that recognize perinatal mental health as an essential part of maternal and child health—and ensure more families receive the support they need to thrive.

Reference

¹ Cunningham, K., Mărginean, V., & Hylock, R. (2025). Navigating promise and perils: Applying artificial intelligence to the perinatal mental health care cascade. npj Health Systems, 2(1), 26. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44401-025-00030-7

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