Program Description
The Perinatal Behavior Health PEER to PEER Program (PEER) supports pregnant and postpartum women with improving their mental health wellness through the provision of peer support services conducted through BREATHE (Black Women Restoring Evolving Taking Accountability Teaching Each Other Healing While Elevating Everyday).
Priority Population:
The target population for this grant cycle will be African American/ Black pregnant and postpartum women from the city of Cleveland and East side First-ring communities bordering Cleveland.
What is the problem we are working to address?
There are significant differences in opportunities to be healthy, health outcomes and life expectancy based on race, place and socioeconomic status, with the poorest health outcomes in our urban core communities of color.
The percentage of adults who stated that their mental health was not good 14 or more days in the past month in Cuyahoga is 15.6%; within the city of Cleveland it is 19.2%, and the nation is 13.5%. In addition, according to the Mental Health Index by Conduent Healthy Communities Institute, 21.2% of adults in Cleveland indicated that they felt sad or hopeless consistently for a 2-week period.
Locally, we recognize that many of our health outcomes are impacted by factors that our women, infants, children, youth, and families have little or no control over, and these factors are referred to as the social determinants of health (SDOH). These rankings illustrate that the SDOH are drastically impacting opportunities for positive health outcomes and continue to inform program and service delivery.
Important data
Countywide
Cuyahoga County recently ranked ninth in Ohio out of 88 counties for clinical care, but ranked 70th for health outcomes (2023 County Health Rankings).
Cuyahoga County ranked 80th in socio-economic factors and quality of life.
In Cuyahoga County, we have a racial disparity more than 2 times higher between the Black Non-Hispanic and white Non-Hispanic (Black IMR -12.1; White IMR- 5.1).
In 2021, 51 infants died due to prematurity, accounting for 53% of all infant deaths.
Over half of the infants born (53%) were so early they lived less than 12 hours.
Of the 51 deaths due to prematurity, we know the common risk factors associated were poverty (67%), followed by chronic health conditions of the mothers (61%) and unplanned pregnancy (55%).
Statewide
Ohio in 2020: Black mothers and their infants account for 38% of births, but represent 69% of deaths (864 total infant deaths, 493 White infant deaths, & 362 black infant deaths).
Ohio’s Overall neonatal mortality rate in 2020 was 4.4, with a 3.4 Neonatal mortality rate for white infants & 8.9 Neonatal mortality rate for Black infants.
Ohio’s overall post neonatal mortality rate is 2.2 with a 1.6 Post neonatal mortality rate for white infants and a 4.7 Post neonatal mortality rate for Black infants.
Nationwide
According to National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI), postpartum depression and anxiety disorders affect 1 in 7 mothers nationwide, making it the most common complication of pregnancy and childbirth.
These conditions often go undiagnosed and untreated and only 50% of women diagnosed with perinatal depression receive treatment. Unfortunately, when left untreated, mental health conditions are one of the leading causes of pregnancy-related death that occur within a year postpartum.
We see that African American families and communities bear a higher burden of pregnancy and infant loss when compared with other racial and ethnic groups. It is important to understand one’s own reactions to grief and loss are key to providing compassionate support to others.
What are the solutions?
BREATHE (Black Women Restoring Evolving Taking Accountability Teaching Each Other Healing While Elevating Everyday) is a five-part series in which pregnant and postpartum individuals learn to identify and address depression, anxiety, panic, and the fears often faced by women of color.
These professionally-facilitated group sessions help pregnant and postpartum individuals deal with toxic stress through self-care activities such as journaling, relaxation techniques, and social support.
Key Partners: