Mothers’ Perceptions Of Mental Health Support In Their First Year Of Parenting

Abstract

There are currently gaps in maternal mental health care in the United States (Verbiest et al., 2018). Many mothers report feelings of sadness, shame, and depression after birth and within their first year of parenting (Prevatt &Desmarais, 2018). The proposed research aims to explore mother’s perceived feelings of maternal mental health support after pregnancy and to gain insight on a perceived need for increased postpartum support for mothers through a quantitative survey. It is anticipated that the study will imply that there is a need for increased maternal mental health support, and that occupational therapy has the tools to address these needs.