70% Of U.S. Counties Lack Sufficient Maternal Mental Health Resources

About 70% of the 3,143 counties in the United States lack sufficient workforce capacity and resources to meet maternal mental health needs. The lack extends to the number of perinatal mental health certified (PMH-C) provider organizations, psychiatrists who self-certify as having expertise in maternal mental health, and community-based organizations who directly serve perinatal mental health.

Nationwide, about 96% of “birthing age” women (ages 15 to 44) lives in a maternal mental health professional shortage area. These women represent 62 million of the 64.6 million in the potential perinatal population. To fill the shortage, 13,885 . . .