After the MHAC director listened to the oral
synopsis, he asked questions about perinatal mental
health and the effects on the mother, her children,
and her ability to provide financially for them. As
a matter of coincidence, his agency had received a
$3 million grant entitled Wellness Works, which
provided educational materials and resources on
workplace mental health. During the discussion,
the APN questioned the inclusion of perinatal
mental health as a topic in Wellness Works. Realizing
that perinatal women were an underserved
population, the director offered the APN a subgrant
within the larger grant to create original
workplace educational materials on perinatal
mental health. These materials included information
on the value of screening, referral, treatment,
and workplace accommodations to promote
worker mental wellness.
Within 2 months of the initial meeting, the
MHAC director was appointed to the MHA National
Public Policy Committee where he served
with the executive directors of several other state
mental health associations, which was excellent
timing for getting a national audience for the proposed
ideas for perinatal mental health screening
and treatment. Although MHA had many policies
on various aspects of mental health, there were
none on perinatal mental health. The committee
agreed that MHA needed to create a policy on
perinatal mental health to address the needs of this
special population.