The new BlueDot Project program, BlueDot Safe Spot, will focus on reaching and educating medical practitioners and their office staff on Perinatal Mental Health and the pathways to mental health support for their patients. It will create “Mental Health ‘Safe Spots’” for parents throughout the pregnancy, postpartum, and post-loss period.
Participating medical offices, community health centers, clinics, high school/ college nurse’s offices, etc., will take Perinatal Mental Health training to ensure they have the appropriate knowledge and language to properly support perinatal patients. The goal is for anyone who may come in contact with a patient in the perinatal period to have the basic knowledge and awareness to better support them. After training, they will be identified as BlueDot “Mental Health” Safe Spots and showcase the BlueDot in their offices, on their website, etc.
BlueDot “Mental Health” Safe Spot program will start the conversation between practitioner and patient, allow the practitioner to confidently follow up with support and resources (through PSI services), and provide general awareness around Perinatal Mental Health and TheBlueDotProject.
Why do we need a perinatal mental health safe spot designation?
Perinatal mental health disorders, which can occur during pregnancy or within one year after the end of pregnancy, are a critical but often under-addressed issue that has huge implications for individuals, families, and society at large. PMHDs impact approximately 800,000 people a year, and a recent study from the CDC reports that mental health is the leading underlying cause of pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S.
These are just a few of the many stark statistics that show the vulnerability of pregnant, postpartum, and post-loss individuals. This vulnerability is further compounded by the lack of awareness and education about Perinatal Mental Health Disorders in the overall population, but also among medical practitioners. Medical practitioners (including OBGYNs, general practitioners, pediatricians, etc.) are among the few who have regular check-ins with new and expecting parents during pregnancy and after and create an accessible pathway to support and resources.