FSU was well-represented Thursday at the opening of the 10th Annual Perinatal Mental Health Conference at the FSU Alumni Center, co-sponsored by the Florida Maternal Mental Health Collaborative and First 1000 Days Florida. FLMMHC was co-founded by College of Medicine Professor Heather Flynn, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Behavioral Science and Social Medicine. First 1000 Days was founded as a statewide convening of Florida’s ZERO TO THREE efforts and emphasizes the importance of the early learning window in child development. Maternal health, both physical and mental, is one of its key objectives. It is an outreach of the FSU Center for Prevention & Early Intervention Policy. 

Perinatal mental illness – including mood and anxiety disorders during pregnancy and after delivery – remains a major public health concern in Florida and across the United States. Encompassing depression, anxiety disorders and substance abuse, among other conditions, perinatal mental illness is the No. 1 health complication related to pregnancy and the postpartum period. It affects one in five women and one in 10 men in Florida, research shows. Nationally, 75% of women with maternal mental health conditions go untreated, leading to worse outcomes for mothers and infants.