Governor Proclaims Maternal Mental Health Month

Maternal Mental Health Month

2025

By The Governor Of The State Of North Carolina

A Proclamation

Whereas, mothers’ health is a high priority for the State of North Carolina; the period spanning pregnancy through the first two years postpartum is a universal time of vulnerability with concerns including rising maternal mortality, severe maternal morbidity, and racial inequities in outcomes for mothers and infants across the nation; and

Whereas, one in five women experience maternal mental health conditions, such as postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar mood disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, postpartum psychosis, and suicide, yet more than 50 percent of mothers are not diagnosed by a health care professional and 75 percent do not get the treatment they need; and

Whereas, Black, Indigenous, and Hispanic women, teenage mothers, women having socioeconomic challenges, and military mothers are up to four times more likely to experience a perinatal mood and anxiety disorder; and

Whereas, women may not seek help because they are not informed about perinatal mood and anxiety disorders as part of their health care, due to a lack of knowledge about screening and assessment tools, treatment, and community support services; and

Whereas, untreated maternal mental health conditions can have profound and lasting effects on maternal and infant health outcomes, including women’s well-being, family stability, and children’s development; and

Whereas, Medicaid pays for half the births in North Carolina, and Medicaid expansion and the extension of Medicaid coverage to postpartum women up to 12 months are both critical policy levers to help women access mental health services before, during, and after pregnancy; and

Whereas, dedicated health care providers, community organizations, public health professionals, and advocates work tirelessly to support maternal mental health and connect mothers to prevention and treatment; and

Whereas, the State of North Carolina encourages collaboration with local and national coalitions, organizations, and agencies to facilitate increased awareness and education about maternal mental health, including raising awareness about resources like the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline (1-833-TLC-MAMA), the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (accessible by calling or texting 9-8-8), and the Postpartum Support International (accessibly by calling or texting “HELP” to 1-800-944-4773);

Now, Therefore, I, Josh Stein, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim May 2025, as “Maternal Mental Health Month” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this second day of May in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-fifth and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.