GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — It's estimated that one in seven women can develop postpartum depression. A one-of-its-kind in Michigan has helped more than a thousand mothers struggling with their mental health.
"We're celebrating 10 years," Dr. Andrea McFerren, a psychiatrist with Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services, says.
It's been a decade since the beginning of the Mother and Baby program at Pine Rest.
"It is a day program. It's an intensive program for anybody who is pregnant (and) up to three years postpartum to be able to come and receive treatment for any kind of mental health issue that they may have during that period in their life," Dr. McFerren says.
That can include postpartum depression and other perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.
"There's a lot of hormonal changes that can happen as well as just kind of natural changes with sleep, which can lead to increases or new symptoms, and things like depression, anxiety, also a kind of find some kind of unique experiences," Dr. McFerren says.
Through treatment, individuals meet both one-on-one and in a group with specialists. Dr. McFerren meets with mothers to prescribe any medication they might need and talk through what they're going through.
She says the program has helped more than 1,700 people.
"I would say some of the common themes that I tend to hear are just things like, 'I feel like I can enjoy my child again. I feel like I can be present with my family. I feel like I'm able to let things go that I was holding on to where it felt like I had to be super mom or super dad and do all of these things,'" Dr. McFerren says. "(It's) just being able to say like, 'Hey, just me being here and loving my child is enough.'"
It's the only program of its kind in Michigan, and she hopes to expand their care.
"One of the barriers is how can we get people from further away than maybe what feels like a doable driving distance for the day? How are we able to get them connected with programming?" Dr. McFerren says.
"We were driven by our passion, that with the right help, moms will get better. And with the right help, we can do better. And we can have a better future for our kids," Dr. Gretchen Johnson, Chief Executive Nurse, says.
The program also includes a nursery for infants up to about eight or nine months old. Dr. McFerren hopes that can be expanded too, so it's more accessible for mothers with older children.
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