Q&A: Learn about the new maternal mental health program at Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital

Elizabeth Barnett, birth center director at Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital, spoke with Impact on the community about the hospital’s new maternal mental health program, launching in 2023 and providing free resources to patients who are new mothers, including support groups for a variety of conditions, individual and family counseling, and coping assistance medication management.

Can you describe the maternal mental health program?

We determined it a year and a half, two years ago, with COVID(-19)… I think we are very aware that mental health is a little neglected in our country. And so it really came to a head and became just a little bit more obvious. And we really thought this was the best opportunity…to try to get rid of that stigma and face it head on. Mental health therefore does not discriminate. It happens to moms right after giving birth…and continues afterward. So it was a really perfect time to partner with the social worker that I was able to hire who specializes in maternal mental health, and bring her in.

It’s barely been a year. …She started seeing patients in late May and early June (in 2023). We are introducing it to our other campuses, working out the details of a new program over a short period of time. We think it’s a really good program now and we would eventually really like to get out there and help more of our community in the Houston area.

Is there a reason you chose the Woodlands campus?

We were aware of certain needs in this community. There was a conversation about how we can help and reach more moms in our area. I think sometimes we have this idea that people can only be depressed if they’re worried about providing for their baby… (but) there’s really no discrimination. We found that our community needed it just as much as some areas that aren’t as wealthy…and that the stigma of being perfect and doing everything right really affects patients in this area.

What is this program if anyone wants to participate?

Sometimes mental health comes not only with therapy, but also with the ability to prescribe. And so, partnering with our OB-GYN to step in here, when medication management is necessary, is really, really important so that we’re treating the patient holistically and not missing out…which goes hand in hand with the therapy. The other part is that we’ve only been able to do virtual tours for a few months. So moms… if they have a newborn and they don’t want to take them out in the heat or the cold or the rain, they can also do virtual visits. We try to reach as many people as possible.

What would a typical support group look like?

We started with support groups…one was for depression, the other was for anxiety. Maybe that wasn’t really what our patients were looking for. …They weren’t as well received as expected. …So we moved him to a social support group. On Wednesdays, we welcome mothers to HEAL (the health education and learning space). In the HEAL space, we bring everyone together and they can bring their baby into this space and visit and share stories. It is more of a social support group. …It’s what works best for our community and the feedback we’ve received.