Does this mean more people do understand about postpartum illnesses?

Joel, let there be no mistake, we are in a pivotal moment right now as it pertains to women and perinatal mental health.

Women have been struggling since the dawn of time during pregnancy and in the postpartum period with their mental health.

Their struggles, their cries have fallen on deaf ears.

We have a health care system that is clearly not adequately set up to catch these women before they fall through the cracks.

We've talked before about the statistics of perinatal mental health.

One in five new and expecting mothers experience a perinatal mental health condition.

Like what is going on here with the forget everything else for a minute with the mental health care system in this country?

Does this mean more people do understand about postpartum illnesses?

Joel, let there be no mistake, we are in a pivotal moment right now as it pertains to women and perinatal mental health.

Women have been struggling since the dawn of time during pregnancy and in the postpartum period with their mental health.

Their struggles, their cries have fallen on deaf ears.

We have a health care system that is clearly not adequately set up to catch these women before they fall through the cracks.

We've talked before about the statistics of perinatal mental health, one in five new and expecting mothers experience a perinatal mental health condition.

We know that these conditions are the leading cause of maternal mortality in this country.

Like what is going on here with the forget everything else for a minute with the mental health care system in this country?

Did you know that Lindsay Clancy was Googling 60 to 100 times a night to try to figure out what was going on? It sounds like she was in a maze of medications, totally lost and drowned.

So I am not a prescriber.

I just want to start with that.

So I do not prescribe medication.

I'm a licensed clinical social worker.

So my clinical background has been in psychotherapy.

I will say, having started a clinical treatment facility that I ran for 10 years that provides treatment both prescribing medication and also therapeutic services to pregnant and postpartum women experiencing more acute symptoms as Lindsay Clancy is or was.

I mean, what about that is an issue that people just don't understand this? Can someone be a perfectly good mother? like Julie Schwartz just said, and actually just go into a psychotic state and wind up doing what she did, because Julie Schwartz seems to think that that is not possible.

Did you know that Lindsay Clancy was Googling 60 to 100 times a night to try to figure out what was going on? It sounds like she was in a maze of medications, totally lost and drowned.

So I am not a prescriber.

I just want to start with that.

So I do not prescribe medication.

I'm a licensed clinical social worker.

So my clinical background has been in psychotherapy.

I will say, having started a clinical treatment facility that I ran for 10 years that provides treatment both prescribing medication and also therapeutic services to pregnant and postpartum women experiencing more acute symptoms as Lindsay Clancy is or was.

I mean, what about that as an issue that people just don't understand this? Can someone be a perfectly good mother? like Julie Schwartz just said, and actually just go into a psychotic state and wind up doing what she did, because Julie Schwartz seems to think that that is not possible.

ah i'm a jersey guy so that's home okay yeah brooklyn so for those who do not know let's start off with the basics um which is what is postpartum depression and what is postpartum psychosis and what is common and what is rare here

So a wonderful place to dive in.

What's important to know is that about one in five new and expecting mothers experience what we refer to as a perinatal mood and anxiety disorder, right? Acronym for that is a PMAD.

And I think of PMADS as an umbrella.

And there's a number of very specific clinical diagnoses or psychiatric diagnoses that sit under the term perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.

We have perinatal depression, perinatal anxiety, perinatal obsessive compulsive disorder, perinatal post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, and in rare but extreme cases, postpartum psychosis.

Now, you'll notice that I use the term perinatal in front of most of these diagnoses as opposed to postpartum.

Can you just tell us about that a little bit? Absolutely.

i'm a jersey guy so that's home okay yeah brooklyn so for those who do not know let's start off with the basics um which is what is postpartum depression and what is postpartum psychosis and what is common and what is rare here

So a wonderful place to dive in.

What's important to know is that about one in five new and expecting mothers experience what we refer to as a perinatal mood and anxiety disorder, right? Acronym for that is a PMAD.

And I think of PMADS as an umbrella.

And there's a number of very specific clinical diagnoses or psychiatric diagnoses that sit under the term perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.

We have perinatal depression, perinatal anxiety, perinatal obsessive compulsive disorder, perinatal post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, and in rare but extreme cases, postpartum psychosis.

Now, you'll notice that I use the term perinatal in front of most of these diagnoses as opposed to postpartum.

Can you just tell us about that a little bit? Absolutely.

Why did you choose social work? And what drew you specifically to maternal mental health?

Oh, my goodness.

What an interesting question.

So when I was in my 20s living in San Francisco, trying on all kinds of different jobs that were not a good fit for me after I graduated from college, I found myself volunteering at a homeless shelter down the street.

And it got to the point where I was volunteering more than I was working, literally.

Every day I would get home from work.

I would go to the homeless shelter for families.

good odds in their favor of finding a social worker who is versed in this or not?

So

I am a person who experienced a PMAD.

20 years ago, after my son was born, I had severe postpartum depression and anxiety.

And I always say I'm very lucky to be here.

It took me months and months to get support and care and treatment.

And even as a trained, licensed clinical social worker who was meant to identify mental health risk in others, when it was happening to me, I had no idea what was going on.

I just felt like I was drowning in an ocean and paddling as fast as I could to keep my head above water and breathe.

Like why?