CHILD ARE BOTH EMOTIONALLY TAXING THE PROCESS. CAN BECOME MORE DAUNTING WITH THE ONSET OF POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION. WHILE ALL NEW MOTHERS ARE VULNERABLE, A RECENT STUDY FOUND THE RISK OF POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION IS NEARLY 40% HIGHER AMONG LATINAS. AS OUR CORRESPONDENT DINA DEMETRIUS VISITED WOMEN’S HEALTH INNOVATIONS OF ARIZONA. THE CLINIC ACCEPTS INSURANCE AND MEDICAID IN AN EFFORT TO REDUCE THE FINANCIAL BARRIERS TO TREATMENT. BUT AS DINA SHOWS US, THERE ARE OTHER BARRIERS THAT ARE MORE DEEPLY ROOTED. TURTLE. YES, TURTLE. EMILY HARRIS’S HEART LEAPT WHEN SHE FOUND OUT SHE WAS PREGNANT WITH HER FIRST SON, ETHAN. BUT HER MIND PITCHED A FIERCE BATTLE. I REMEMBER BEING IN THE OCEAN AND JUST WANTING TO DIE, NOT NOT BECAUSE I DIDN’T WANT TO LIVE, BUT BECAUSE I WAS SO OVERWHELMED WITH WITH THE FEELINGS OF GRIEF AND SADNESS. AND MANAGING DEPRESSION. SINCE SHE WAS A TEEN, EMILY KNEW SHE WAS LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE IT POSTPARTUM, BUT SHE WAS SURPRISED WHEN IT STARTED AT EARLY PREGNANCY AND WORSENED WITH NEW SYMPTOMS. OCD, ANXIETY, VIOLENT, INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS. THE FEAR OF THINKING YOU’RE NOT SAFE TO BE AROUND. THAT’S TERRIFYING BECAUSE THAT’S NOT THE TRUTH. I LOVE MY FAMILY MORE THAN ANYTHING, AND IT’S SCARY TO THINK PEOPLE WOULDN’T UNDERSTAND TO NO FAULT OF THEIR OWN. EMILY SAYS SHE COULDN’T SHARE HER DARKEST FEARS WITH HER MEXICAN BORN MOTHER, TALKING ABOUT THEM WASN’T PART OF HER FAMILY AND CULTURE, SO SHE JOURNALED THEM. I FEEL LIKE I AM A BURDEN. I FEEL LIKE I’M GRASPING FOR SOMETHING TO HOLD ONTO. WHILE EMILY’S HUSBAND, ERIC, TRIED TO HELP HER OVERCOME HER EMOTIONAL ISOLATION, I FEEL HELPLESS. AND THEN YOU JUST TRY TO BE THE BEST. YOU TEDDY BEAR, I GUESS. JUST LIKE BE BY HER SIDE. AND, LIKE, IF YOU NEED TO, LIKE, CUDDLE OR IF YOU NEED TO JUST HAVE SOMEBODY SIT THERE WITH YOU IN THE SAME ROOM. YEAH. SOME DAYS I HAD TO SAY, TREAT ME LIKE A BABY BIRD. JUST BE SO GENTLE. EMILY EVENTUALLY OVERCAME HER FEAR OF TAKING MEDICATION AND FOUND THERAPY WITH MICHELLE LACEY, DIRECTOR OF WOMEN’S HEALTH INNOVATIONS OF ARIZONA MATERNAL MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS ARE THE NUMBER ONE COMPLICATION OF PREGNANCY, AFFECTING 1 IN 5 WOMEN AND 1 IN 10 DADS AND LESS THAN 15% GET HELP. LACEY SAYS UNDERLYING IT ALL IS PROFOUND GRIEF FROM A VARIETY OF LOSSES. WE HAVE LOSS OF SELF, LOSS OF FREEDOM, LOSS OF MAYBE THINGS NOT GOING THE WAY I EXPECTED IT TO GO. THIS GRIEF IS COMMON, BUT TREATMENT OF MATERNAL MENTAL HEALTH IS NOT ESPECIALLY FOR WOMEN OF COLOR WHO ARE 33% MORE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE A PERINATAL MENTAL ILLNESS THAN WHITE WOMEN. I THINK FOR ALL WOMEN OF COLOR, IT’S REALLY JUST GETTING RID OF THE STIGMA. BUENOS DIAS. THERAPIST BRENDA MARTINEZ GUALAJARA SEES MANY FIRST GENERATION CLIENTS OF ALL ETHNICITIES WHO STRADDLE THE DISCONNECT BETWEEN MODERN AMERICAN MOTHERHOOD AND THEIR MORE TRADITIONAL RELIGIOUS UPBRINGING. MANY OF THESE CLIENTS WON’T TELL THEIR FAMILIES THEY’RE GETTING THERAPY. WHEN YOU TELL YOUR PARENT THAT YOU KNOW YOU’RE GOING TO GO OR YOU FEEL DEPRESSED, THE FIRST THING THAT SAYS IT’S BECAUSE YOU DON’T GO TO CHURCH ENOUGH, IT’S BECAUSE YOU DON’T PRAY. OKAY. SO THAT’S A HUGE A HUGE BARRIER FOR THEM TO COMING AND SEEKING HELP. THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE FOR THE OLDEST CHILD USED TO PLEASING THEIR PARENTS. SO IN THE HISPANIC LATINX CULTURE, IT’S VERY COMMON FOR CHILDREN TO BE PARENTIFIED. WHERE THE OLDEST CHILD TAKES ON THE ROLE OF BEING THE CARETAKER FOR THE YOUNGER CHILDREN. SO AS A TRANSITION INTO MOTHERHOOD, IT’S I SHOULD KNOW EVERYTHING BECAUSE I DID I ALREADY DID THIS. I SHOULD BE PERFECT. I SHOULD KNOW WHAT I’M DOING TO MAKE MENTAL HEALTH CARE MORE ACCESSIBLE TO THE LATINX COMMUNITY. GUALAJARA RUNS REMOTE BILINGUAL COUNSELING GROUPS WITH LOCATOR REPRESENTATION MATTERS. AND IT DOES MATTER WHEN A CLIENT COMES IN AND SITS DOWN LIKE YOU CAN ALREADY SEE THAT THEY FEEL COMFORTABLE. MEANWHILE, EMILY HAS FINALLY FOUND HER WAY FORWARD WITH MEDICATION AND THERAPY AND LETTING LOVED ONES KNOW WHEN SHE NEEDS HELP. BUT THOSE DARK DAYS CAN STILL LURK IN THE SHADOWS. DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’RE THRIVING? UM. NOT THRIVING. YOU KNOW, QUITE HONESTLY, I FEEL LIKE THERE’S ALWAYS MORE WORK TO BE DONE. BUT BETTER THAN BEFORE. ABSOLUTELY. IN CHANDLER, ARIZONA, I’M DINA DEMETRIUS. FOR MATTER OF FACT, AT ARIZONA, ALSO LAUNCHED A PERRY NATAL PSYCHIATRY ACCESS LINE FOR PREGNANT OR POSTPARTUM WOMEN. DINA SPOKE WITH DIRECTOR DR. SARAH KALIA ABOUT THE SHORTAGE OF TRAINED FRONTLINE P