Research Study Brings Mental 人妻中出视频 Care to New Moms Statewide
By this point, Sarah McCormick was used to the exhaustion, used to the dragging numbness that weighed her down. It had hit her hard after the birth of her first 人妻中出视频. 鈥淚鈥檇 have lots of fatigue, no energy. I鈥檇 find that I just feel really numb,鈥 she says. 鈥淓verything feels like a chore. And everything feels heavy. You can鈥檛 find the good things and the joy in life.鈥
She鈥檇 tried counseling and medication, but it hadn鈥檛 gotten any easier. And after the same thing happened after the birth of her next three kids, she was resigned to the idea that it wouldn鈥檛.
Why it matters:
Research studies by the 人妻中出视频 of Utah are bringing needed support to pregnant people and new moms across the state from cities to the frontier. For the one in five pregnant people who experience depression, research is changing鈥攁nd saving鈥攍ives.
At the time, she blamed herself for her symptoms, thinking, 鈥淯nless I鈥檓 willing to eat 100% right and exercise, and make sure I鈥檓 getting sleep鈥 [depression] is just going to be my lot in life.鈥
She was wrong.
After the birth of her daughter Amelia in 2020, once again living with severe postpartum depression, McCormick joined a research study designed to connect rural Utahns with telehealth support groups鈥攁nd something finally clicked. Her mood started to improve almost instantly. She says, "When I combined medicine with this program, it finally was like, Oh! This is the ticket."
Hope for parents
McCormick isn鈥檛 alone. Up to one in five pregnant people experience depression during pregnancy or after giving birth. And these perinatal mood disorders can have deadly consequences: substance use and suicide are among the most common causes of maternal death in the first year after giving birth.
The good news is that perinatal depression is treatable. For most people with perinatal depression, therapy or medication can help. But many folks never get the treatment they need鈥攕tigma can prevent people from seeking help, and people in rural areas may live hours away from the nearest mental health provider.
professor at the 人妻中出视频 of Utah College of Nursing, knew things could be different.
She started a study to see if a new intervention could help people with perinatal depression. To reduce stigma and make sure nobody fell through the cracks, she started using brief mental health surveys at all pregnancy and postpartum health visits across U of U 人妻中出视频 and in several state public health clinics, including in rural health districts.
People whose survey results indicated a risk for perinatal depression were connected with additional resources鈥攊ncluding the option to join one of Latendresse鈥檚 telehealth support groups.
Pregnant people and new moms tuned in to weekly sessions to learn mindfulness-based therapy techniques and connect with others in the same boat. The online format helped keep the program accessible for everyone. 鈥淲omen didn't have to worry about transportation or finding 人妻中出视频care,鈥 Latendresse says. 鈥淭hey could stop for an hour and join the group from wherever they were.鈥
The results were remarkable. Participants in the eight-week program had much lower depression scores, even half a year later.
The group format also helped people feel a sense of connection to others living with similar symptoms.
鈥淚t normalizes it; you don鈥檛 feel as marginalized. You can feel like you are part of a community.鈥
How studies help
Research-based interventions like Latendresse鈥檚 help real people like McCormick by testing better ways to solve urgent problems in public health. Because they鈥檙e paid for by research funds, they鈥檙e free to participants鈥攈elping bring care to any Utahn who needs it. Now, Latendresse is expanding the intervention鈥檚 reach by adding 鈥渙n-demand鈥 mental health modules to U of U 人妻中出视频鈥檚 online education portal for pregnant patients, helping people get support right when they need it.
Latendresse sees technology as an important part of making sure every pregnant person and new parent gets the mental health support they need.
鈥淢ental health services should be a component of prenatal care and postpartum care that鈥檚 just integrated,鈥 Latendresse says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 seamless, it鈥檚 there, it happens.鈥
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This article was originally published in and was adapted from .
