Over 60 Thought Leaders Gather for a Roundtable Discussion on Military Mothers’ Mental Health
On July 25, at the Military Women’s Memorial in Arlington, VA, we hosted an in-person roundtable discussion on military mothers’ mental health that convened over 60 guests, including individuals with lived experience and thought leaders from organizations representing maternal mental health, maternal-child health, mental health, military service organizations, and government departments and agencies.
We discussed the impact of maternal mental health in the military, led a lively discussion about existing efforts and programs that support military mothers’ mental health, and identified key opportunities for participants to work together to improve or expand their efforts. Our next step is to obtain specific commitments from participants on steps they can take to support the mental health and well-being of our nation’s military mothers — both active duty service members and spouses.
MMHLA team and Roundtable Discussion participants
We Hosted a Panel on Military Mothers’ Mental Health at the Postpartum Support International Conference
On July 27, we led a panel discussion on military mothers’ mental health at the Annual Postpartum Support International Conference in Washington, DC.
The panel included five amazing women who shared their stories of lived experience and their work supporting military mothers: (back row) Adrienne Griffen, MMHLA’s Executive Director; Jamie Zahlaway Belsito, MMHLA’s Founder and Director of Policy & Partnerships; and Tiara Flynn, Air Force Veteran and full spectrum doula; (front row) Dr. Olymphia O'Neale-White, DSW, LCSW, C-FSW, PMH-C, clinical military social worker; and Patience Riley, LPC, R-PLC, PMH-C, Air Force spouse.
The knowledge and experience about military life, maternal mental health, and policy advocacy made for an enriching presentation for conference attendees, most of whom work in the maternal mental health field and have a direct impact on individuals who need support.
We Updated our Fact Sheet on Military and Veteran Women and Maternal Mental Health to Include Information About Racial Disparities
After publishing our Fact Sheet on Military and Veteran Women and Maternal Mental Health in November 2023, we realized that we did not include information about racial disparities. Thus, we have updated this Fact Sheet with race and ethnicity data, along with information about disparities that impact women of color in the military.
We acknowledge that this information should have been included in the original Fact Sheet in keeping with our commitment to center racial and health equity in all our work, and we apologize for our oversight.
We Championed The Maintaining our Obligation to Moms Who Serve Act (The MOMS Act)
We have been working on a policy solution to support the mental health of our nation’s military mothers: The Maintaining our Obligation to Moms who Serve Act of 2024 (also called The MOMS Act), is bipartisan federal legislation which would establish a 5-year pilot program within the Department of Defense to implement evidence-based programs that have been effective at preventing maternal mental health conditions.
In January 2024, the MOMS Act was introduced in Congress in both the House and the Senate with bipartisan support in both chambers. On June 14, 2024, this legislation passed out of the House as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, which provides funding for all aspects of the nation’s military operations. Next, this legislation needs to make its way through the Senate.
We Hosted a Webinar on Maternal Mental Health in the Military
In November 2023, we hosted a webinar addressing maternal mental health in the military as part of our Fall 2023 Series Delving Into Maternal Mental Health. This webinar featured stories of lived experience along with policy recommendations that address the unique mental health challenges that military and veteran mothers, birthing people, and their families face.
We Advocated for Funding for Research on Maternal Mental Health
The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) was established in 1992 to foster novel approaches to biomedical research in response to the expressed needs of the American public, the military, and Congress. The CDMRP strives to transform health care through innovative and impactful research by funding high impact, high risk, and high gain projects that other agencies may not venture to fund.
In 2022, MMHLA successfully advocated for including maternal mental health as a priority research area within the CDMRP’s Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program. As a result, the CDMRP awarded almost $10 million to fund research programs focused on maternal mental health in 2023.
MMHLA remains committed to uplifting and supporting the mental health of our nation's military mothers across all our strategic pillars: advocating for change, building partnerships, curating information, and focusing on racial and health equity.
