Current solutions fail to care for women of color’s maternal mental health needs
Women of color and culture navigate complex identities, balancing their heritage, cultural values, and the societal norms of their primary communities and/or home country against status quo lifestyles. Nuanced multicultural experiences become particularly challenging during transitional and developmental life stages such as the maternal and postpartum periods.
Namely, Black and African American women face real experiences of racism or additional fears of racism in a system that does not provide the tools for providers and healthcare operators to become aware of the cultural or communication differences that build trust in care settings. This lack of education among health system providers and operators results in additional stress or shame as a consequence of poor provider-patient interactions. This additional stress has real impacts on patient outcomes, trust or uptake of care services. While among other races and ethnicities, many women are separated from their extended family and culture, lacking the social support systems and cultural understanding of traditional communication methods or beliefs that are essential to advocating for themselves in a complex health system during pregnancy and postpartum periods.
Women of color also face a combination of biological, socio-economic, and healthcare-related challenges during this time of life, including disparities in access to and quality of prenatal and postnatal care resulting in higher rates of pregnancy-related complications.
The consequences of these disparities in healthcare, combined with the absence of culturally sensitive support for patients and education for health workers, can lead to dire health consequences, including higher rates of mental health symptoms during the perinatal period for women of color and culture.
29-44% of Black women experience postpartum depression
According to the CDC, about 1 in 8 women experience symptoms of postpartum depression. However, the risk is 1.6 times higher for Black women than white women. Women of color are also less likely to receive screening and treatment for postpartum conditions because of bias, lack of access to mental health services, lack of policy to support this condition, and cultural attitudes toward mental health.
Enhancing community support and providing culturally relevant care is crucial to improving the health and well-being of women of culture and color throughout the entire perinatal period.
Tandem Community’s Solution
Tandem Community provides private digital health programs and a community designed to support the emotional and mental wellness of women of color through a culturally curated assessment, mood management tools, and resources. Their innovative approach includes personalized support programs tailored to women’s cultural, ethnic, and life experiences, recognizing the importance of heritage, race, lifestyle, family life, and priorities. Included in the community membership, Tandem Community offers access to 12-week life stage-based private digital health programs for third trimester, fourth trimester, return to work, and experienced moms delivered via SMS/text, helping women implement learned strategies into their daily lives.
The private community access offers women a space to explore support from women who look, live, face stressors, celebrate cultures, and build families like them while learning and communicating to positively reinforce their diverse communities and lifestyles. In addition to access to private digital mental health programs the community membership also provides access to monthly education and support groups, facilitated by therapists or experts of color who understand and have lived multicultural and intersectional experiences. Support group sessions led by these therapists help women develop mental wellness through the lens of race, heritage, and culture, fostering a supportive environment where personal priorities and family well-being are normalized, valued, and celebrated.
By providing these resources, Tandem Community aims to bridge the gap in mental health care for women of color and culture, promote emotional and mental wellness, reduce health disparities, and ultimately improve the quality of life for mothers and their families. This holistic approach leverages cultural competence and community support to create a more inclusive and effective mental health care model for maternal periods, addressing the diverse needs of women during fertility, pregnancy, postpartum, and even later into motherhood toddler, and early school age years.
Stay up to date to learn about future features of Tandem Community, which will curb gaps in the continuum of care by allowing doulas, midwives, and physicians in obstetrics and gynecology, primary care, and family medicine to onboard patients to the product.
For more information about Tandem Community, visit www.beintandem.co/ and follow them on LinkedIn or Instagram.
For more information on Femovate visit www.Femovate.com and follow us on LinkedIn
For interviews please contact Theresa Neil
