This paper represents collaborative thinking around perinatal mental health and proposes a series of recommendations to improve the maternal health system in Los Angeles County.
Untreated maternal depression impairs the healthy development of infants and young children. It is via the attachment relationship that optimal development occurs. Maternal depression can also affect the parent-child relationship. Since a child’s emotional health and a strong parent-child attachment provide the foundation for healthy development throughout life, maternal depression can have a long-lasting impact on infant and early childhood mental health.
For the past year ZERO TO THREE has been working with Maternal Mental Health NOW and the Maternal Mental Health Policy and Systems Change Committee in Los Angeles County, California, on recommendations to improve the maternal health system in Los Angeles County.
