Circle of Caring PPD Support Groups
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The NAMC’s Circle of Caring Postpartum Support Groups One of the core missions of the NAMC is to educate mothers and families about postpartum depression (PPD) and help them reach out for guidance and support. As part of this effort, the NAMC has collaborated with the Postpartum Resource Center of NY for the past four years to offer Circle of Caring peer led PPD support groups at local Mothers’ Centers. The groups offer emotional support, educational information and coping tools for empowerment. Postpartum depression is the most common medical complication related to childbearing. One in five women will experience some form of PPD. Perinatal depression and anxiety can occur during pregnancy and up to the first year after the birth or adoption of a baby. It can happen to any woman regardless of age, education, culture and socioeconomic status. Symptoms may include frequent crying, sadness, feeling hopeless, anger, guilt, anxiety, scary thoughts and sometimes thoughts of suicide or hurting the baby. Postpartum depression is a very treatable illness – and there is help and support available. At this time we offer Circle of Caring groups at two locations on Long Island in New York State. The NAMC is grateful to have received the financial support of The Roslyn Savings Foundation and Doreen Downs Miller, without which this program could not have happened. We hope to expand and replicate this program to Mothers’ Centers in other parts of the country in collaboration with local and national funding sources. For the Circle of Caring program, local Mothers’ Centers host the groups and provide their childcare workers. Specially trained peer facilitators volunteer their time to lead the groups. They are supported by a professional team that includes a paid social worker or psychologist.
To learn more about this important program, contact Lisa Kaplan-Miller Additional Resources Postpartum Resource Center of New York |
