There is growing national attention on maternal mental health.
The months surrounding the birth of a child can be an incredibly vulnerable time for both mother and baby. For families, it is a period of profound change, often accompanied by exhaustion, financial pressure, shifting relationships and a new set of responsibilities. It is also a time when children are particularly vulnerable. In Arizona, children ages zero to five make up the largest population of children entering foster care, a reminder of just how important early support and stability can be.
At the same time, parents today are carrying an extraordinary amount.
About 75 percent of mothers work outside the home, while many continue to shoulder a disproportionate share of the responsibilities
inside it. Research from Pew Research Center has found that even when women are the primary earners in their marriages, they still spend more time on caregiving and housework and less time on leisure.
For many new parents, the traditional "village" that once helped raise a child is no longer readily available. Grandparents may live across the country. Friends are working and raising children of their own. Affordable child care can be difficult to find, and mental health services can be difficult to access.
So perhaps the question isn't why maternal mental health has become a crisis. Perhaps the question is why we continue to expect mothers to carry so much of it alone.
Postpartum depression most commonly emerges during the first six months after birth, although it can occur later. Symptoms can include intense feelings of sadness, anxiety or exhaustion that last more than two weeks and interfere with a parent’s ability to manage daily life.
This is not a problem we should solve by putting another responsibility on mothers. Maternal mental health is a community issue.
Arizona's Family Resource Centers and Community Hubs can play an important role in creating that community. These spaces can connect families with parenting resources, basic needs assistance, child development information, behavioral health resources and, perhaps most importantly, other people who understand what they are going through.
Our communities can also look beyond traditional services. Libraries can provide story times, play groups and opportunities for parents to connect. Community organizations can create parent meetups. Even social media can be a starting point for finding local groups and building relationships that make the early months of parenthood feel a little less isolating.
The Arizona Department of Child Safety is part of this broader network, but DCS is not the answer to maternal mental health. When there are concerns that a child may be experiencing abuse or neglect, you can contact DCS. However, the goal as a community should be to help families find support before they reach a crisis and to recognize that strong families and safe children depend on strong communities.
That means each of us has a role to play.
If you know a new parent, check in and don't settle for "I'm fine" as the end of the conversation. Offer something concrete: a meal, an hour of child care, a ride or a connection to a local resource. If you are part of a community organization, make your programs welcoming to parents with young children. If you are a neighbor, friend or family member, don't underestimate how much a small act of support can mean.
And if you see a family struggling, don't wait until a crisis to ask how you can help.
Keeping children safe starts long before a crisis. It starts with parents who have support, families who have resources and communities willing to show up.
Every mother deserves a village. If the village isn't there, Arizona can choose to build one together.
Kathryn Ptak is the Director of the Arizona Department of Child Safety and a mother.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Supporting mothers means supporting Arizona families | Opinion
