Sometimes parents just need to know they’re not alone.

One place they can find each other is at Afterglow, a therapy group for those experiencing postpartum depression and anxiety, led by a licensed therapist through The Womb Room near Hampden. They can share and process their birthing stories, talk about postpartum symptoms and even piece together how their partners can support them after birth.

Clare Donofrio, a clinical social worker and perinatal psychotherapist who often leads the group, said parents come in with feelings of isolation, sadness and guilt within the first year of giving birth. They might also experience excessive worry or difficulty relaxing as they track their babies’ milestones. Group therapy can offer validation for those feelings, especially if moms and dads feel blindsided by the reality of parenthood, and empower parents to share the tips and tricks they’ve learned.

“It’s really helpful for self-esteem and sense of self to feel like, ‘OK, I’m also helping others,’” Donofrio said. “It kind of gives people the opportunity to feel more in community with others.”

Their community may be larger than ever. A recently released study found large declines in mothers’ self-reported mental health across the nation, findings anecdotally supported by experts in Baltimore. Between 2016 and 2023, the number of mothers reporting that they had excellent mental health declined by nearly 13 percentage points; meanwhile, those saying they had poor or fair mental health went up by 3.5 percentage points.

Put another way, in 2016, one in 20 mothers reported her mental health as poor or fair. That had jumped to one in 12 by 2023.

While moms were more likely to report poor mental health than dads, “the decline in mental health between 2016 and 2023 was comparable between moms and dads,” said Colleen MacCallum-Bridges, one of the study’s authors.

MacCallum-Bridges said that as both a mom and maternal health researcher, she was unsurprised by the decline. While the study wasn’t designed to identify the causes of worsening mental health, MacCallum-Bridges said in a written response that prior research suggests that three things could be the culprit: rising economic insecurity, changing perceptions around big social problems like climate change and racism, and increased social isolation.

Declines were worse for moms in precarious economic situations, such as single parents and those with children either on Medicaid or without any health insurance.

Kesha Baptiste-Roberts, who has studied maternal and family health for nearly 20 years, said it can be difficult to bring parents in for help after birth. They need to find time and resources, such as child care and transportation, to prioritize their own mental health.

While the study included mothers with children any age between 0 and 17, feelings of depression and anxiety can be especially acute in the first year of a child’s life, “when baby’s screaming, the dishes are piling up, you’re feeling overwhelmed,” Baptiste-Roberts said.

“If you’re in survival mode, you’re not in self-care mode,” she added.

Economic realities can also force moms back to work before they or their baby is ready, said Jessica K. Jones, a licensed clinical social worker who provides therapy for pregnant and postpartum women at Baltimore Therapy Group.

Recently passed cuts to Medicaid and food stamps could worsen conditions for the parents whose mental health has declined the most because they are “absolutely devastating for parents of young kids and pregnant people,” Donofrio said.

There’s still not enough candid conversation about the reality of postpartum life, Donofrio said, but she said things are getting better. Still, the lack of conversation can lead to increased isolation, especially with the collapse of the village new parents used to be able to rely on to raise their babies, she said.

Plus, parents can find themselves going down rabbit holes on Instagram and TikTok, social media platforms that encourage perfectionism and unrealistic standards that can make parents feel ashamed for not having it all figured out.

“You see these picture-perfect images,” Baptiste-Roberts said, “and then you feel a sense of insecurity that you can’t provide that or that’s not your life. And that takes a toll.”

Baptiste-Roberts is the principal investigator for the Center for Maternal and Family Health at Morgan State University, a research hub where there’s a project underway to train certified doulas on cultural humility, trauma-informed care and avoiding burnout as they provide continuous emotional care for moms before, during and after pregnancy.

Another solution comes in the form of groups such as Afterglow. While that one costs money, The Womb Room also offers free pregnancy and postpartum support circles, including for specific issues like breastfeeding, led by experts. Postpartum Support International has free online support sessions for different groups, such as Black moms, those parenting after loss or parents in the LGBTQ+ community. There’s also a helpline.

Moms can also seek traditional talk therapy through people like Jones, who said she always starts with acknowledging and normalizing her patients’ experiences. From there, moms can seek the help they need by confiding in their support circle, finding free time or establishing a new routine.

“We hope that moms who are struggling see from this study that they are not alone, and their struggle is not invisible,” MacCallum-Bridges said.

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.