Life & Work with Postpartum Health Alliance, Natalie Fitzgerald – Program Manager

Today we’d like to introduce you to Today we’d like to introduce you to the Postpartum Health Alliance. They and their team shared their story with us below:

The Postpartum Health Alliance is a San Diego non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs), providing perinatal resources + treatment referrals to San Diego families, and connecting + educating San Diego’s clinical and perinatal wellness professionals.

Established in 1998, PHA started promoting the importance of perinatal mental health before it was cool. Now that perinatal mental health is starting to get the attention it needs, we are dedicated to ensuring that perinatal professionals and San Diego families have the education and support they deserve.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
PMADs affect people of all walks of life – every race, ethnicity, socio-economic class, gender, and sexual orientation. We are dedicated to addressing the gap in perinatal care that disproportionately impacts disenfranchised groups. Through intentional community partnerships, we have been able to dedicate funding to help provide free and reduced-cost individual, couples, family, and group therapy; free and reduced lactation support; and PSI training scholarships for qualifying BIPOC providers.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Our nonprofit organization offers programs that help promote education, awareness, and resources for those providers who work in the Perinatal Mental Health field and for the community members struggling with understanding and seeking resources for PMADs.

We do this through:
1. Hosting a warmline – Only 15% of those suffering from a PMAD receive help. To address this, trained PHA Peer Support Specialists provide support and specialized referrals through our “warmline.” The warmline takes messages 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and every message is returned within 48 hours.

2. Supporting Professionals – PHA is a membership organization bringing together diverse and dedicated clinical + allied perinatal professionals. Our membership allows our providers to expand their education and regularly exchange peer support, resources, and referrals.

3. Increasing Awareness – PHA will not rest until every person a new parent comes in contact with understands PMADs. We do this by regularly providing our PMADs 101 training to community groups, health providers, and businesses, in addition to supplying organizations with our educational brochures. We also have a self-paced, online course for PMADs 101 so that anyone, anywhere can learn more.

4. Educating Providers – Even though PMADs are the number one birth complication, MANY health professionals remain uninformed and thereby minimize, misdiagnose, or overlook PMADs. PHA is dedicated to seeking out and training organizations and providers serving individuals within the perinatal period, especially those serving high-risk populations.

5. Providing Local Resources – Despite all the information at our fingertips, finding nonjudgmental, trusted, and helpful resources has never been harder. We tackle this modern-day problem by maintaining a website packed full of educational insights on PMADs and a directory full of local and specialized perinatal clinical providers, allied professionals, and support groups.

PHA’s funding and operations are largely brought to life by our passionate volunteer Board of Directors. The Board is supported by our Program Manager, PHA’s professional members, and passionate Warmline volunteers.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.postpartumhealthalliance.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/postpartumhealthalliance/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/postpartumhealthalliance/