For a staggering number of women, pregnancy is not a time of joy

You’re not alone

Fortunately, Mommy&Me has the tools to effectively find and treat these women; intervening early can help D.C. babies enjoy the strongest start at life.

Our overall goal at Mommy&Me is to partner with former patients, moms with experience giving birth in D.C. and other members of low-income Black communities to develop and test different approaches to overcome obstacles and achieve health equity by providing effective mental health screening and care. Our patient partners spoke loudly and clearly: It’s too difficult to get mental health care in D.C., and it ends too quickly. So, participants will remain in the study up to 12 months after delivery. And our Mommy&Me study also will include women who do not yet meet criteria for being diagnosed with major depression or anxiety.

#NoMotherLeftBehind

Contact us to join Mommy&Me
MommyAndMe@childrensnational.org
+1 202.476.2192
Read the Mommy&Me flyer

Purpose

Mommy&Me strives to find and effectively treat low-income Black women receiving prenatal care at our three recruiting sites and intervening early to help D.C. babies enjoy the strongest start at life.

Who can participate

Low-income pregnant women who are Black or of African descent, who are older than 18 years with a pregnancy of 28 weeks gestation or less. Study participants must speak English and receive prenatal care at George Washington University, Howard University or Unity Health Care.

Who may not participate

• Pregnant women:


• Who are younger than 18 or older than 45


• Whose pregnancies are more advanced than 28 weeks’ gestation


• Who are under the influence of a substance/experiencing active psychosis


• Who are not Black or of African descent

What should I expect?

• You will complete a number of questionnaires to assess your mood and overall health of you and your baby. This will occur during pregnancy and until your baby is 12 months old.


• You will be randomly assigned to participate in the intervention. This means connecting with a maternity care specialist, receiving individual or group therapy, and an optional peer support group during and after your pregnancy. We anticipate these interventions will reduce depression, anxiety and stress that you may experience during and after pregnancy.


• After your baby is born, we will meet with you and your newborn to ask about your infant’s health and development. We also will measure how you and your newborn are bonding. Our team will continue to monitor your baby’s development up to his or her first birthday.

Will I be paid?

• Study participants will receive up to $255 to $415 in total compensation, if you complete all questionnaires and attend all therapy sessions. This includes $10 per session toward transportation expenses for any in-person interventions.

Our recruiting sites

• Howard University
  Vanessa McDonald, M.D., recruiting site PI
  


• The George Washington University Hospital
  Jennifer Keller, M.D., recruiting site PI
  


• Unity Health Care
  Siobhan Burke, M.D., recruiting site PI
  Maariya Bassa, CNM, recruiting site program coordinator

Meet the Mommy&Me team

Meet our Peer Support Group Facilitators

Read the news release