Maternal Mental Health MATTERS

Mary Kimmel1

  • 1assistant professor and co-director, Perinatal Psychiatry Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina mary_kimmel@med.unc.edu.

Depression and anxiety during pregnancy and the postpartum period are common and have significant negative impacts on mother and child. Suicide is a leading cause of maternal mortality. Evidence-based efforts for screening, assessment, and treatment improve maternal and infant mental health, as well as overall family health, throughout the lives of women and children.

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