07-05-2025
Experts say more than 15,000 women will experience a perinatal mental health condition in N.C. each year
DUPLIN COUNTY, N.C. (WNCT) — Jessica Thomas is a mom to three boys and spends her days in Kenansville.
Each birth came with its own set of challenges.
'When you're in survival mode, the only thing that you're thinking about is just getting to the next day,' Thomas said. 'What I had a lot of trouble with was postpartum OCD, which are intrusive thoughts. They're very scary if you've ever experienced them, you know exactly what I'm talking about.'
Postpartum OCD is just one type of perinatal mental health condition. About 15,000 North Carolina women will experience one every year and nearly 12,000 will go untreated, according to Mind the Gap North Carolina.
Other conditions include depression, anxiety, bipolar disorders, panic disorders, PTSD and postpartum psychosis. Mental health conditions were the leading cause of death in pregnancy-related deaths from 2018-2019 in the state.
'During the birth of my third baby, I left the hospital with PTSD,' Thomas said. 'I didn't sign up for a war. I'm not in the military. I'm a mom.'
Lack of care to treat these issues affects the entire state and especially in rural areas where even though some counties like Duplin aren't considered maternity care deserts, there are still gaps in education and few doctors.
Groups like Mind the Gap North Carolina and March for Dimes are advocating in Raleigh to get funding to train more providers in perinatal mental health.
Eighty counties in North Carolina have less than 50 percent workforce capacity and rural counties have an average of 33 percent.
'We're looking at trying to, at least, get one trained provider in each county,' Co-leader of Mind the Gap North Carolina Erin Crites said. 'Whether it's access through the health department, that some of the health departments have embedded behavioral health, or if we have somebody that's already a therapist there that can start to see those patients in the community.'
They're also advocating for expanding coverage under Medicaid and insurance providers along with work paid leave.
'Moms exist on all party lines,' Crites said. 'This is just a mom issue and how can we take care of our future.'
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