Providence is set to expand a maternal mental health program to help new mothers with postpartum depression after a 5 percent increase of cases has been seen due to the current coronavirus pandemic.

Pre-COVID, 15 percent of new mothers experience postpartum depression, but a year dominated by a pandemic, social unrest, divisive politics and now massive fires fulfilling climate change prophecies is pushing up those numbers, according to officials with Providence.

Since early this year, Providence Southern California has seen an estimated 5 percent surge in postpartum depression among maternity patients at its 11 hospitals and one affiliated hospital, which delivers approximately 31,000 babies a year, according to officials.

The recent spike has spurred Providence to draft plans to expand a model maternal mental health program at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange to Providence hospitals in the South Bay and the San Fernando Valley, including Holy Cross, according to officials.

The 3-year-old Orange County program has proven successful in treating postpartum depression through combined therapy and medication that is carefully dosed to allow for breastfeeding, according to officials.

The regional expansion effort includes a $600,000 grant from Blue Cross/Blue Shield to fund six therapists for the Heritage Foundation provider organization affiliated with Providence, according to officials.

Also, an intensive outpatient maternal mental health program was established over the summer at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo providing mothers with full-day therapy once or three times weekly depending on their need, according to officials.

The “baby blues” are common, but when the condition does not go away in a matter of days, women need clinical help.

Depression is a medical condition linked to a chemical imbalance in the brain, according to Providence officials.

State law requires obstetricians to screen maternity patients for depression.

The goal for Providence is to identify potential cases early and to be vigilant in monitoring and treating patients, in partnership with their loved ones, according to officials.

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