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THE 2019 MATERNAL MENTAL HEALTH

Listen to the past webinars below.

The webinar recordings provide a deep dive with representatives from each of these winning organizations so others might adopt similar strategies and programs to address MMH disorders.

2019 Award Winners

Innovation Awards


Innovative Programs in Care Winners:

In 2019 the Judging Panel determined that two winners in this category were warranted, rather than a winner and an honorable mention.

Northwestern Medicine: A Collaborative Care Model for Perinatal Depression Support Services (COMPASS)

COMPASS is a perinatal collaborative care model that re-imagines prenatal care delivery. In COMPASS, mental health care is seamlessly integrated into the prenatal clinic setting, fostering an environment of collaboration and care delivery for the whole woman. COMPASS uses a three-pronged approach including (1) the development and implementation of a perinatal depression educational training program for Northwestern obstetric providers, (2) a clinical care program including a perinatal psychiatrist and therapist to enable collaborative mental health care within the Northwestern Obstetric practices, and (3) an evaluation of the health utilization implications of this collaborative care model. COMPASS promises to optimize perinatal mental health care across Northwestern but also to serve as a model for successful and sustainable implementation of perinatal collaborative care across academic medical centers around the country.
Monday, October 14, 2019Webinar link and presentation slides.
Additional resources:
Collaborative Care Models for Perinatal Mental Health: A Systems Approach to Best Practices Webinar
Summation of Collaborative Care Services Billing

Virginia Commonwealth University’s Virginia MOMS Program

Virginia MOMS (Maternal Outreach and Mental Health Support) is a comprehensive maternal mental health program that was established at the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in 2017, the only one of its kind in the state. The program integrates psychiatric care, social work and obstetrics care for expectant patients and new moms with complex mental health needs.

The program began as a collaboration among a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, a psychiatrist and a clinical social worker who saw a common thread of untreated mental health conditions among both expectant patients and postpartum moms. Care in the Peripartum Clinic can begin in the early stages of pregnancy. By embedding psychiatric care into the OB clinic, our patients can be treated and have the tools to maintain mental health during and after pregnancy. Mental health support in the Peripartum Clinic includes sessions with a psychiatrist, support group participation, closer-interval visits and mood surveillance. This unique clinic provides women with the support and tools they need to cope with the challenges of pregnancy and motherhood.

The establishment of this program at VCU allows for a rich clinical experience for our psychiatry and obstetric residents and provides direct access to patients with complex psychiatric issues. The residents and medical students get a collaborative experience across service lines which supports the university’s mission of cross departmental collaboration to maximize system efforts. The program allows us to follow the updates guidelines for increased care in the post-partum population.
Monday, December 9, 2019 Webinar link and presentation slides.


Innovation Awards


Innovative Community Solutions Winner:

Appalachian Perinatal Mental Health Alliance – An MMH Community Coalition

Appalachian Perinatal Mental Health Alliance (APMHA) is a non-profit organization in Northeast Tennessee. The mission of the APMHA is to promote awareness, prevention, advocacy and treatment of perinatal and early parenting mental health issues in all communities. APMHA is a diverse group of regional organizations, professionals, advocates, and individuals who work as positive agents of change for mothers, healthcare providers, and community members in the Northeast Tennessee region and beyond. The alliance has three central aims: 1) to raise awareness of perinatal mental health in the region, 2) to decrease the stigma associated with perinatal mental health, and 3) to increase the capacity for our region to meet the needs of those with perinatal mental health concerns.
Tuesday, December 17, 2019Webinar link and presentation slides.


Innovation Awards


Honorable Mention:

Better Postpartum – Mother’s Day through Labor Day Social Media Campaign

Better Postpartum initiated a 9 month strategic social media campaign. As part of the “To.Get.Her Better” social media campaign run by Better Postpartum on Instagram, moms share how they wish they had better postpartum education, by using the hashtags #NobodyToldMe and “Women Deserve a #BetterPostpartum,” in order to raise awareness for the need for women to have better education about the postpartum period.

The goal of the 9 month campaign–intentionally set from Labor Day to Mother’s Day (which featured hundreds of participants, including: Circle of Health International, the Empowered Birth Project, Speaking for Moms and Babies, Orgasmic Birth, and more), was to raise awareness about the need for women to have a Better Postpartum education as a means for improving maternal health outcomes and combating both the rise in, and the intensity and duration of, most perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.
Monday, January 13, 2020 Webinar link and presentation slides.


Innovation Awards


Innovation in Policy and Advocacy Winner:

Maternal Mental Health NOW – California’s Comprehensive MMH Bill Package

Maternal Mental Health NOW’s mission is to remove barriers to the prevention, screening and treatment of prenatal and postpartum depression in Los Angeles County. In 2018, Maternal Mental Health NOW joined forces with 2020 Mom to co-sponsor three bills that would reduce stigma surrounding maternal mental health disorders and increase resources for screening and treatment: AB 2193, AB 3032 and AB 1893. All three bills passed and were signed into law by September 2018 – the first ever maternal mental health laws in the state of California.
Thursday, November 7, 2019Webinar link and presentation slides.


Innovation Awards


Honorable Mention:

UT Maternal Mental Health Collaborative (PSI chapter) Telehealth Appropriations

PSI-Utah (Formerly the UT MMH Collaborative) organized a group of MMH survivors from around the state in conjunction with healthcare and mental health providers to support legislation that would provide a three year appropriation for improving maternal mental health in Utah. These survivors provided testimony and support to the Social Services Appropriations Committee on the mounting need for greater access to maternal mental healthcare across our state. The testimony conveyed the alarming gaps in mental care for mothers both during pregnancy and throughout the postpartum period noting suicide was the second leading cause of maternal death from 2015-2016. Those that testified also emphasized that though UT has the highest rate of births per capita, little has been done to support mothers struggling with mental health disorders. The Utah Department of Health was ultimately provided with $220,000 each year for the next three years to address issues in maternal mental health statewide. Funds will be used to support a dedicated maternal mental health specialist, continue ongoing support of four rural counties implementing telementalhealth, and a website that will provide information on maternal mental health resources throughout the state.
Tuesday, October 29, 2019Webinar link and presentation slides.


Innovation Awards


THE 2019 MATERNAL MENTAL HEALTH INNOVATION AWARDS OVERVIEW

2020 Mom and Marce of North America, with support of Denver’s Zoma Foundation, is pleased to announce the 2019 Maternal Mental Health Innovation Award Winners.

These competitive awards are presented annually to impactful programs that deserve recognition for leadership in supporting maternal mental health (MMH). It is time we share what works in addressing maternal mental health disorders, which impact up to one-in-five women during pregnancy and the postpartum period.

The award program seeks exemplary programs with at least 6 months of outcome data that should be lifted up as proven models for broader adoption across the country.  

The program has two main goals: 
  • To recognize those who are supporting maternal mental health through innovative initiatives that have produced measurable outcomes.
  • To facilitate sharing innovative models in order to scale and promote change in a rapid and effective manner.

The program gives awards in three categories. The first place winner in each category received a prize of $3000, and the honorable mention winner in each category received a $1000 prize. Funds are to be reinvested in new MMH initiatives or MMH program expansion. One representative from each of the 2019 winners received complimentary registration, hotel accommodations for one night and travel costs to the Marce of North America (MONA) 2019 Conference, October 24th – 27th, where the winners presented their programs and were interviewed through a panel style discussion.

Innovation Awards


Three categories of Innovation Awards in Maternal Mental Health:

1. Innovative Programs in Care Care models (both clinical and non-clinical) with strong outcomes for addressing maternal mental health and lend themselves to broader adoption. 

In 2019: We encouraged obstetric practices and insurers to apply.

2. Innovative Community Solutions – Leadership, communication, and broad community engagement that brings focus to maternal mental health and have measurable outcomes.

In 2019: We encouraged employers supporting mothers or organizations who have developed public awareness campaigns using TheBlueDotProject, to apply.

3. Innovation in Policy and Advocacy – National, state or local policy efforts with impactful results.  

In 2019: We encouraged applications from county or state agencies like public health and mental health departments.

Learn about the Judging Panel


The Innovation Awards program was made possible through a three year grant (2017-2019) from the Zoma Foundation. The program may be reintroduced in 2021 – allowing new programs to have ample time to track outcomes.