The pandemic’s mental health impact is dangerous for new moms. Especially black moms.

By: Kelly Glass| June 10, 2020

"Asia Davis welcomed home her now two-month-old baby at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. From the start, things didn’t go as planned. Davis was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, which black women are at a 63 percent higher risk of, and was required to get regular non-stress tests to monitor the health of her baby. Two weeks before her due date, her midwife explained the results of her recent non-stress test were “off,” and she needed to give birth right then.
“I cried and I begged to go home and get my stuff,” says Davis. “I had a birth plan. I wanted to labor at home before coming to the hospital, but now that wasn’t going to happen.”
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A maternal-fetal specialist sent her immediately to labor and delivery, where a series of unexpected events continued. Davis’ baby’s heart rate was too high, and doctors and nurses rushed to get him out. He was fine after a frightening birth: When her son finally made his grand entrance, his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck and body. “He wasn’t moving,” Davis said. “It was really scary, especially with nobody telling me anything.”

No visitors were allowed at the hospital where she gave birth, in Cleveland, Ohio’s COVID-19 epicenter, on March 26. So although her partner was with her for the birth, her mother and family weren’t able to visit for the three days she was there. Again, it wasn’t the scenario she had pictured, adding to her distress.

The postpartum period has been equally as isolated. It’s been just her and her partner and their new baby. Davis was diagnosed with postpartum depression, and with a lack of physical connection and a present support system because of social distancing guidelines, she’s struggling. Her partner, she says, is depressed too, so most of the child care burden falls on her. “I’m doing this alone, and it’s just too much. I need help.” On top of that, Davis is facing going back to work and finding childcare for her infant during a pandemic, which adds another huge set of worries.

According to a recently released report by Aeroflow Healthcare, 56 percent of new moms said they had family and friends stay with them to help out. Still, 48 percent said they struggled with postpartum depression and 39 percent with social support isolation. Postpartum depression, a serious mood disorder, affects 1 in 7 women and can last for months if left untreated, according to the American Psychological Association. Other postpartum mood disorders, namely postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder (PP-PTSD), can occur when childbirth is stressful and traumatic. To add to that, according to a 2018 study in Frontiers in Psychiatry, low social support is a significant risk factor for PP-PTSD. And those findings came during what now seems like a faraway time when baby showers, hospital visitors, and family coming over was the norm. Now, moms not only face postpartum depression and stressful birth experiences like Davis’, but are even more isolated than before — and the effects are yet unseen."

Read more about the pandemic's mental health impact for new moms. Especially black moms