About 15 parents formed a circle at Blacklick Woods Metro Park in Reynoldsburg, braving the heat and humidity of a late July afternoon.
They all had their eyes closed. One woman had one hand on her heart and the other on her stomach.
“I am enough just the way I am,” said Ivory Levert, leading a guided meditation. “I welcome moments of rest and quiet and put them into everyday life. I speak my truth and ask for what I need.”
The group met on July 24 as part of Root to Rise, an event where co-founders of the organization black women in nature took Rise members – a maternal mental health organization catering specifically to black parents, on a walk in the park.
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Raise is a branch of Perinatal Outreach and Foster for Moms (POEM), a program of Ohio Mental Health America that offers peer support groups, referrals, and education on pregnancy and mood and anxiety disorders for moms and families in Ohio.
The nature walk capped Rise’s week of events for Black Maternal Mental Health Week, which was itself part of National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month in July. The designation recognizes the struggles underrepresented groups face regarding mental illness in the United States, according to Mental Health America.
To help, Rise offers a mentoring program and referrals to counselors and psychiatrists of color, among other offerings.
“They provide wraparound services like support groups that happen frequently and then they also call you depending on what’s going on with your pregnancy or in your life,” said Tiffany Davis Hale, 30, an East Side member. “It’s really based on what you need and I like that.”
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Rise creates a safe space for black families
When Hailee Childs, 34, joined POEM as senior manager of community programs in 2019, the organization was already developing Rise. Her job was to promote it and organize the first support group.
“We began to intend to make sure we were in the doctor’s office, the OB (obstetrician) office, the pediatrician’s office and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) offices, for its acronym in English) where our moms are. Childs said.
POEM and Rise program coordinator Cass Stewart, 44, said the organization recognized there was a gap in care for women of color in Greater Columbus and a separate branch was needed.
According to the Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance, Mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety disorders, are the most common complications of pregnancy and childbirth, affecting one in five people during pregnancy or after childbirth.
Black women are twice as likely to experience mental health problems, but only half as likely to receive treatment. According to the alliance, more than 50% of cases of postpartum depression in women of color go unreported.
“We realized that our services needed to be more culturally connected and specific to that group,” said Stewart. “So Rise became a thing and started to grow.”
The number of referrals from health care providers increased significantly during the early days of the pandemic, especially when shutdown orders were in effect, Stewart said.
So far this year, the number of referrals is 576 people, Childs said.
Most of Rise’s support group meetings have been virtual for the past two years, but they will move to in-person meetings at the end of August, he said.
Both Childs and Stewart have first-hand knowledge of these types of services. Both said they experienced depression and anxiety after having premature births.
“I feel like I’m just using my superpowers to help other moms activate their superpowers too, that you can really do this,” Stewart said.
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find a community
One of the Rise members who attended the recent nature walk was Turquoise Connelly, who noted, when the group took their first break during a 1.5-mile hike, how refreshing it was to be out in nature with a group of black women. .
“Normally when I go alone, I feel very nervous just feeling physically alone and then knowing that people have their expectations and aggression towards black people in the woods; like you’re not supposed to be there,” Connelly said. . “But I don’t feel that right now.”
Connelly, who is non-binary and uses they/they pronouns, said she felt lonely after having daughter Riley in 2020, experiencing postpartum depression and anxiety. Most of that stress was due to being diagnosed with postpartum preeclampsia, a condition that occurs when one has high blood pressure shortly after giving birth.
“It made breastfeeding extremely difficult, and I had all these people (doctors and lactation groups) who would shame me when I was struggling to breastfeed and didn’t give me any medical support to help me increase my production.” Connelly said. “And the emotional resources were also lacking.”
The 33-year-old Franklinton resident was prescribed two high blood pressure medications, but still had difficulty expressing milk. So, they switched to formula.
Connolly joined Rise in February and said his mental health has improved a lot. Members referred them to a therapist for help with anxiety and depression and feel welcome in the group as LGBTQ people. One-year-old Riley even joined Connelly on the nature walk.
Now pregnant with her second child, Connolly feels more prepared this time.
“POEM is an invaluable resource. It is priceless.”
@micah_walker701