National Council for Behavioral Health is the unifying voice of America’s community mental health and addictions treatment organizations. The organization is committed to ensuring all Americans have access to comprehensive, high-quality care that affords every opportunity for recovery and full participation in community life. It also offers state-of-the-science education and practice improvement consulting and resources to ensure mental health and addiction services are efficient and effective.
Benchmark: Perinatal Depression Screening
Increase proportion of HS participants who receive perinatal depression screening and referral to 100%.
Perinatal depression is one of the most common medical complications of pregnancy. It is important to identify women with depression because untreated mood disorders can have adverse effects on women, infants, and families. ACOG recommends that pregnant women should be screened for depression at least once during the perinatal period.
A Performance Measure Resource Sheet summarizing recommended strategies and a selection of resources and evidence-based practices related to this benchmark to aid Healthy Start grantee organizations, partners and their staff in supporting the women and families they serve.
Featured Resource: Evidence-Based Practice
Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)
The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was developed to screen postpartum women for depression in an outpatient setting. It is a 10 question screen that takes about 3-5 minutes to complete, and is easy to score. The EPDS asks the patient how she has been feeling over the last seven days. It has been validated for use during both pregnancy and the post-partum period. It has been translated into 23 languages.
Thinking Healthy: A manual for psychosocial management of perinatal depression
This manual is designed for training community health workers on how to support expecting and new mothers with depression, using evidence-based cognitive behavioral techniques. Community Health Workers can assist depressed mothers to change their unhealthy patterns of thinking and behavior, leading to an improvement in their mood and functioning, and prevention of later problems in their infants. The manual provides a step-by-step guide for CHWs implementing the Thinking Healthy intervention in 15 sessions with mothers (from pregnancy through baby’s first 10 months), and includes a structured process for each session, activities, worksheets and charts, and communication tips. This manual is a generic version for global use of a manual originally developed in Pakistan and later used in many other countries.
Family Spirit
Family Spirit is an evidence-based early childhood home-visiting program designed for and by American Indian communities. Family Spirit combines the use of paraprofessionals from the community as home visitors and a culturally focused, strengths-based curriculum as a core strategy to support young families. From pregnancy through the child’s 3rd birthday, parents gain knowledge and skills to promote healthy development and positive lifestyles for themselves and their children. Family Spirit addresses intergenerational behavioral health problems, optimizes local cultural assets, and overcomes deficits in the professional health care workforce in low resource communities. Evidence from three randomized controlled trials has documented important results including: increased parenting knowledge and involvement; decreased maternal depression; increased home safety; decreased emotional and behavioral problems of mothers; and decreased emotional and behavioral problems of children. The Family Spirit curriculum modules cover: Prenatal Care, Infant Care, Your Growing Child, Toddler Care, My Family and Me, and Healthy Living.
Alcohol/Drug Services Breastfeeding Depression Home Visiting Parenting Education Partner Involvement Prenatal Care and Education Reproductive Life Planning/Family Planning Socio-emotional Development for Children
Mental Health First Aid
Mental Health First Aid is an 8-hour course that gives people the skills to help someone who is developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis. The evidence behind the program demonstrates that it does build mental health literacy, helping the public identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illness. Mental Health First Aiders learn a 5-step action plan that guides them through the process of reaching out and offering appropriate support. The “adult course” is available in both English and Spanish, and covers anxiety, depression, psychosis, and addictions in adults. The “youth course” is for adults who interact regularly with young people ages 12-18.
Ask the Expert: Parenting Children from Birth to Age 2
This webinar will focus on helping Healthy Start team members:
- Support participants in making healthy parenting choices
- Assist parents in creating safe environments for their young children
- Reinforce and clarify the advice and recommendations of babies’ health care providers
- Identify and help parents recognize warning signs that a baby or young child may be at risk.
Objectives:
- Describe recommendations for care of a child from birth to age 2.
- Discuss the importance of recommended well baby checks and describe tests and procedures that are performed during these visits.
- Identify warning signs that a baby or toddler may be at risk for medical or developmental problems.
Webinar Materials:
Breastfeeding Depression Father/Partner Involvement Immunization Insurance Coverage Intimate Partner Violence Nutrition Parenting Education Patient-centered Medical Home Risk Assessment Safe Sleep Socio-emotional Development for Children Tobacco Cessation
Interconception Care Toolkit
The Interconception Care Toolkit modules are designed to enhance users’ knowledge of interconception health related subjects. There are links to internet resources throughout the Modules to help you learn the content. There are questions and scenarios in each Module which will help you use the information you are learning. At the end of each of the Modules, you will be able to quiz yourselves on what you have learned.
Module 1: The Birds, The Bees, The Plan
Part 1 – Helping Your Clients Plan Their Futures and Their Families
Part 2 – Grasping the Basics of Reproduction
Part 3 – Considering If and When to Become Pregnant Again
Part 4 – From Plan to Action: Finding and Using the Right Contraception
Module 2: Weighty Matters: Understanding and Addressing Postpartum Weight Retention in the Interconception Period
Module 3: Chronic Diseases
Module 4: Poor Perinatal Outcomes
Learning Objectives:
By the end of Module 1 (Parts 1-4) you should be able to:
- Describe and address some of the common myths about reproduction and reproductive health
- Educate your clients about these myths to decrease risky behaviors
- Explain basic sexual anatomy and physiology for males and females
- Describe the main differences in how three types of contraception work
- Use this information to help your clients understand basic reproduction and that methods used to prevent unintended pregnancies may be different than those to prevent STI transmission
- Discuss the risks of unintended pregnancies and short interpregnancy intervals (IPI)
- Help your clients consider a reproductive life plan
- Discuss reproductive coercion and how it impacts reproductive decision making
- Navigate the website bedsider.org
- Explain key characteristics of the main types of contraception to your clients
- Understand and explain failure rates to clients
- Help women/couples choose an appropriate contraceptive method for their reproductive plan and their personal characteristics
By the end of Module 2 you should be able to:
- Describe recommended and excess maternal weight gains in pregnancy
- Define postpartum weight retention
- Identify strategies for discussing and addressing postpartum weight retention with interconception women
- Provide evidence-based weight loss/maintenance strategies and resources to your clients
By the end of Module 3 (Parts 1-2) you should be able to:
- Explain the differences between chronic diseases that predate a pregnancy and pregnancy conditions that may lead to chronic diseases in the future
- Discuss why both are important for a woman’s life course and the health of any future pregnancies
- Discuss why the interconception period is an important time to address chronic diseases
- Support self-management strategies to interrupt the progression of preexisting and developing chronic diseases
By the end of Module 4 you should be able to:
- Discuss major causes of poor pregnancy outcomes and who they are most likely to affect
- Discuss some of the common psychological and social impacts of poor pregnancy outcomes for women, partners, and other children
- Recognize normal and abnormal stages of grief
- Provide basic interconception guidance to women who have experienced one or more of several poor pregnancy outcomes
Chronic Disease Depression EBP Implementation Healthy Weight Home Visiting Life Course Model Parenting Education Reproductive Life Planning/Family Planning STDs including HIV
4Ps Plus©
4Ps Plus© is the first validated instrument that has been developed to screen for alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use; depression; and domestic violence, specifically in pregnant women. In addition, brief intervention strategies, grounded in motivational interviewing techniques, are integrated into the screening process. “I am concerned…” is an interactive, multisensory psychoeducational approach that takes about five minutes and is administered to all women who are found through the screening process to be using alcohol, tobacco, or illicit drugs.
Alcohol/Drug Services Depression Intimate Partner Violence Prenatal Care and Education Risk Assessment Tobacco Cessation
Healthy Start Regional Meeting (LA, AL, MS, AR)
Meeting Materials:
- Regional Meeting Information
- Healthy Start Year II – Direction and Priorities | EPIC Center Services Handout | EPIC Center Slides
- Preconception/Interconception Care Communication Planning Workshop | Slides | Communications Plan Handout | Grantees Communication Showcase
- Overview of Healthy Start Data Reporting | Slides
- Healthy Start Monitoring and Evaluation: Best practices, Evidence building, and Case-based solutions | Slides
- National Infant Mortality CoIIN Update | Slides
- State Title V MCH Program & Healthy Start Collaboration | Slides | Handout
Breastfeeding Case Management/Care Coordination Program evaluation Quality Improvement Social Determinants of Health
Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs
AMCHP is a national resource, partner, and advocate for state public health leaders and others working to improve the health of women, children, and families, including those with special health care needs. AMCHP’s website includes a calendar of events, policy and advocacy resources, information on MCH topics, and a searchable database of best practices.
Chronic Disease Community Needs Assessment Cultural Competence EBP Implementation Home Visiting Intimate Partner Violence Life Course Model Patient-centered Medical Home
Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP)
AHRP brings together healthcare professionals across disciplines and specialties for evidence-based training and network building. The website includes professional education opportunities, publications and resources on reproductive health topics, and advocacy information.
Breastfeeding Early Elective Delivery Prenatal Care and Education Reproductive Life Planning/Family Planning