Keeping New and Expectant Mothers Resilient

Each year in the United States there are approximately half a million women who are at risk of developing perinatal mood disorder (PMD), making it an important threat to the public health of this country. More than half of PMD cases are unrecognized or untreated by health professionals. For women who are diagnosed properly, some still resist treatment for numerous reasons. The primary barriers are attitudinal (stigma and perceived unacceptability of treatments) and logistical (lack of time, transportation, or child care).

There is an outstanding need for a low burden, high efficacy prevention and treatment program that is easily accesible both during and after pregnancy. Moms Prevail is a systematic online program that meets this need. It helps new and expectant mothers to both recognize and overcome PMDs, drawing upon the evidence-based practices of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to teach practical life skills for managing behaviors, emotions and feelings.

Moms Prevail was developed with the assistance of one of the nation's leading authorities on perinatal depression, Dr. Laura Miller, the director of the Women’s Mental Health Division at Brigham and Women’s / Faulkner Hospital in Boston.