Maternal mental health is an often overlooked aspect of mental health. Now, mental health care is often addressed before or during an initial obstetrician appointment, or an appointment with a primary care provider. Following those initial appointments, new efforts are in place to address mental health in the prenatal, postpartum, and all other motherhood stages of our lives. These include routine questions and evaluations during each subsequent appointment, continuing on to even the wellness checks for babies, motherhood mental health is consistently a topic of conversation, and rightfully so. 

Maternal mental health is no longer a closet topic, but it is now a crucial part of total body care for mothers. While no system is perfect for detecting the early signs of mental health concerns in mothers, the increased focus and consistency in the evaluation of their mental health are helping to detect and diagnose mental health concerns earlier, and with more support for the mothers. 

There are many companies and programs out there that put women and maternal mental health concerns first. By utilizing these companies and technologies, we are able to dive into the underserved world of maternal women’s health. Digital advances are able to connect mothers with the care they need when they need it, and in a manner that fits their lifestyle. Maternal mental health is an aspect of mental health that has a lot of potential to make a big impact, by tailoring care of this specific demographic with unique challenges that care make seeking care hard. There are many different layers to maternal mental health, and the new shifted focus to addressed mothers’ care needs will ultimately aid in increasing the overall health and happiness, not just of the mothers, but of family units as a whole. The capability of these digital tech innovations is immensely powerful in their ability to reach those who need care the most. 

With so many mothers suffering from undiagnosed mental health concerns, and with such a large number of women vulnerable, combined with the lack of focus on their mental health care, new innovations are necessary. In keeping with the focus on the startups making an impact in the care world of maternal mental health, connecting mothers with the right companies and resources for them will make all the difference. There is an abundance of potential for many companies to make a positive impact on the lives of mothers everywhere. New companies and new digital tech are making their way into the behavioral health world, in conjunction with the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as the Health Resources and Research Administration. Below are some resources and companies focused on helping mothers to regain control of their mental health. 

‍Resources Here to Help

LunaJoy

LunaJoy is a virtual mental health company designated to holistic women’s mental health therapy, counseling, and medication management, for every phase of life. They specialize in anxiety, depression, loss and grief, menopause, maternal and reproductive mental health, infertility, birth trauma, and many more. LunaJoy also offers gene testing in order to better match mental health medication to your genetics. This is beneficial as it may give the LunaJoy providers insight into how each patient might react to the medication. They offer therapy, psychiatry, mental health coaching, and a 24/7 care navigation team. 

For more information on LunaJoy, please click here. 

HITLab’s Women’s Health Technology Challenge

HITLab’s WHT is the intersection of women’s health and technology. The program was founded in 2018 with the goal of inspiring and boosting technology initiatives that help to alleviate unmet needs in women’s health. Through this challenge, we are able to learn of new digital tech that is changing the way women receive care and learn of new forms of care that are offered. 

For more information on HITLab’s WHT, click here. 

Mammha

Mammha is a digital mental health company that partners with physicians for a mother’s mental health. It is a digital tool that can be used to evaluate and flag mothers who have a screening that comes back positive for mental health concerns. It is used as a screening tool that connects mothers with resources, doctors, support groups, and more. Patients initiate the screenings on their phones, with instant results. In-depth results are passed to the care team providers. If the results come back positive, they are connected with a care coordinator who connects them with the support they need. 

Mammha was a pre-seed category winner in HITLab’s Women in Health Technology Challenge, in December 2021. 

To learn more about Mammha, please click here. 

NCMHEP

The US Department of Health and Human Services, National Child & Maternal Health Education Program (NCMHEP), works with maternal and child healthcare provider associations and federal agencies to identify key challenges in child and maternal health, review relevant research, and initiate educational activities that advance the knowledge base of the field, and improve the health of women and children. They know that maternal mental health matters and that depression and anxiety can happen during pregnancy and after birth. They discuss many of the signs of these conditions and discuss how to find the help you need. 

Find out more here. 

National Maternal Mental Health Hotline

The Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health offer the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline. It is a 24/7, free, confidential hotline for pregnant and new moms with counselors who speak English and Spanish and an interpreter service in 60 different languages. They offer support before, during, and after pregnancy. The hotline offers phone or text access to professional counselors, real-time support and information, information on resources and referrals to local and telehealth providers and support groups, and culturally sensitive support. 

For more information, please click here.