Jaclyn Ohmer couldn’t wait to have a baby. Before she was pregnant, she bought onesies and beagle-shaped booties. She and her husband, her high-school sweetheart, found out they were having a son and prepared a Star Wars-themed baby room. The 26-year-old from Parma, Ohio, was ready for his arrival.
Things got harder after he was born in June of last year. Ohmer loved him but she often felt sad. She grew anxious waiting for his next cry. She wasn’t sure she was fit to be a mom.
When he was shrieking one day, Ohmer had a terrifying thought: “If I put my hand over his mouth, he will be gone. He wouldn’t have to live with me, or go through this.”
She became increasingly fearful of hurting her baby—and more convinced that her family would be better off without her. Ohmer tried to seek help, but help was hard to find.
Researchers estimate that one in five new mothers in the U.S. suffers from mood and anxiety disorders during pregnancy and up to a year after giving birth—about 800,000 mothers every year. Yet studies show that a large majority of women who suffer from maternal mental-health disorders aren’t able to get help.
A major cause is the piecemeal nature of the U.S. healthcare system, where no one medical professional takes responsibility for new mothers and their mental health. Obstetricians, usually the first medical point of contact for new mothers, often don’t specialize in it. Pediatricians focus on the children. Many women seeking help go from doctor to doctor, who struggle to find care amid a shortage of mental-health specialists.