Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month Series

Maternal Mental Health Awareness 

May is Maternal Mental Health Month!  Please join us for our virtual speaker series on mental health featuring expert presenters in the field.  This series will be held every Thursday in May. Click on the individual session to register.

Sessions on May 5, May 12, and May 19 are $20 each.

Registration is FREE using the code PMCHMH for Partnership member hospitals, NJ Department of Health staff, NJ Department of Children and Families staff, and staff at northern New Jersey-based community non-profit organizations (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, Union, and Warren counties only.)

The session on May 26 is free for everyone. 

Preeclampsia and Maternal Mental Wellbeing

Thursday, May 5, 2022
1:00 – 2:00 pm EST

Featured Speaker: Eleni Z. Tsigas

Preeclampsia occurs in approximately 1 in every 12 pregnancies and can turn a woman’s expected pregnancy experience into a life-threatening situation that can feel outside her control. Learn how to recognize the signs of postpartum anxiety, depression, and PTSD in patients with a traumatic pregnancy and how to connect patients more quickly to support resources to process their experiences.

Eleni Z. Tsigas is the Chief Executive Officer of the Preeclampsia Foundation, a patient advocacy organization headquartered in the US with an affiliate in Canada. She is a relentless champion for patient education and engagement, innovating healthcare practices, catalyzing science, and for realizing progress by building partnerships to improve pregnancy outcomes.

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Traumatic Stress Conditions in Childbirth During COVID-19

Thursday, May 12, 2022
1:00 – 2:00 pm EST

Featured Speaker: Dr. Sharon Dekel, Ph.D., MS, MPhil

This Webinar will explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the traumatic experience of childbirth and subsequent maternal psychological adaptation.

Dr. Sharon Dekel, Ph.D., MS, MPhil, is Assistant Professor of Psychology in the Psychiatry Department at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Postpartum Traumatic Stress Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital. She is known internationally for her research on childbirth-related posttraumatic stress.

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Keys to Preventing Adverse Outcomes in Hyperemesis Gravidarum

Thursday, May 19, 2022
1:00 – 2:00 pm EST

Featured Speaker: Kimber Wakefield MacGibbon, BSN, RN

Recognizing the warning signs of hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) is essential to establishing timely intervention. Failure to effectively address the physical and psychosocial needs of mothers may lead to severe and lasting complications of HG for both mother and child. With appropriate care before severe HG develops, mothers and their children have the greatest chance at a healthy future. Kimber Wakefield MacGibbon, BSN, RN, is a Registered Nurse and the co-founder of the Hyperemesis Education and Research (HER) Foundation. She has co-authored over 40 publications on HG and developed numerous clinical resources for diagnosis and management of HG. For over 20 years, she has helped many thousands of families navigate the complexities of HG.

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Voices of Strength: Pregnancy, Parenting, and a Pandemic

Thursday, May 26, 2022

1:00 PM – 2:00pm

A panel discussion on the impact that COVID-19 had on pregnancy and motherhood.

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