Postpartum Support Center leads a community effort to prevent suffering and mental health complications in expectant and new parents and their children in Marin and Sonoma counties. The PPSC aims to help new mothers navigate the perinatal period, reduce parental stress, and build effective support systems, particularly when confronted with considerable barriers to mental health treatment including
long wait times and high costs. Services offered in English and Spanish include:
● Mom to Mom Peer Counseling. Who can better understand perinatal struggles than a woman who has experienced them herself? Our trained volunteers are passionate about providing individualized assistance to all mothers and their support teams. Peers model recovery, teach skills, and offer support via email, phone, text, chat, and in-person.
● Postpartum Peer Support Groups. The transition to motherhood can be stressful, but mothers don't have to go through it alone. Led by trained peers, our online weekly drop-in Postpartum Support Groups are focused on providing emotional and social support, information, education, and practical help. New members are always welcome.
● Support Line 415-320-6707. When a person calls or texts the Support Line, PPSC trained peers will listen, provide emotional support, and connect them to local high-quality treatment providers when needed.
● Marin Diaper Bank - Many low and even middle-income families are struggling to provide essentials to their children which puts them at increased risk of developing Perinatal Mental Health Disorders. By providing diapers, wipes, and other baby supplies we help prevent mental and physical illnesses.
● Self-Screening Assessments. PPSC’s website offers online, anonymous self-screening tools for Postpartum Depression (PPD), Postpartum Anxiety (PPA), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and Compassion Fatigue. Those who score in the higher ranges are encouraged to utilize PPSC as a resource and are provided with recommendations to speak to their healthcare providers.
● ROSE (Reach Out, Stay Strong, Essentials for mothers of newborns) is a program taught in prenatal settings. Through four 90-minute sessions, the program teaches pregnant women to recognize the signs of depression and how to reduce stress by seeking social support, finding a network of friends and family members, and knowing where to go for help. ROSE is the only evidence-based postpartum depression prevention intervention program that has shown to reduces the risk of postpartum depression in low-income women by half.
● Information, Resources, and Referrals.
● Advocacy. We are focused on increasing and improving perinatal mental health awareness, diagnosis, and prevention.
