118: Latina Mothers and Perinatal Mental Health

Susana Marquez, LMFT, is the founder of Me Myself N Mommy Therapeutic Services, a private practice in Long Beach, CA. The practice focuses on Latina maternal mental health. Due to her personal struggles with postpartum depression and anxiety, Susana opened up a practice that specializes in providing education, support, and resources to Latina mothers and their families on what maternal mental health is and the importance of a mother’s mental and emotional wellbeing. Her mission is to bridge the gap between Latina mothers and mental health support while bringing awareness to the real issues they face both culturally and socially. Show Highlights: The hard adjustment and loneliness she felt while she experienced postpartum depression and anxiety following the birth of her son in 2014 How her culture expects mothers to deal with motherhood issues and not need extra support  Why she couldn’t share her dark and negative feelings and shut down from everyone How the sudden, tragic loss of her father sent her spiraling out of control How she put herself on the back burner and didn’t care for herself or process her grief and anxiety Living with the myth that “time heals all wounds” Dealing with grief, triggers, and having no one to connect with How a colleague insisted that she see a therapist for help and how he changed everything for her The pressure on Latina moms as they are compared and held to the highest standard of motherhood in the Virgin Mary How Susana wanted to put her clinical skills and education to use to help other Latina moms Realizing what is missing in services and resources for Latina moms How she reached out to provide classes and education in her area Offering something for free and still being turned down Raising awareness and erasing the stigmas “Latinx”---the new gender-neutral term Feeling like what you’re doing is “not enough” Cultural specifics that make postpartum a challenging time for Latinx moms In Latina culture, there is not room for setting healthy boundaries and limits How Susana is reaching out to moms and spreading the word about available resources Working with doulas to provide info to pregnant moms and not waiting for postpartum problems to appear Why maternal mental health is not a “one size fits all” issue What Susana wants Latina/Latinx moms and the providers who support them to know Susana’s biggest takeaway for Latina moms: Ask for help Susana’s biggest takeaway for providers: Ask how cultural traditions may play into a lack of support for Latina moms   Resources: www.memyselfnmommy.com Find Susana on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter: Me Myself N Mommy