The Perinatal Mental Health Action Network (PAN) serves as the Programs and Services workgroup of the Maternal Mental Health Collaborative. PAN is a network of metro-Denver partners with passion for perinatal mental health. PAN is convened by the Maternal and Child Health Programs within the Public Health Institute at Denver Health and Tri-County Health Department. Partners include health care systems, community mental health, local public health agencies, policy advocates, and people with lived experience.
PAN Work in Action
PAN’s priority is understanding and expanding the perinatal mental health continuum of care, which we see as critical to influencing where and how perinatal mental health is addressed.
The Perinatal Continuum of Care
PAN developed the Perinatal Continuum of Care to illustrate the “wheel of support” available for families and the opportunities providers across sectors have to support perinatal families using the cross-cutting strategies around the wheel.
- Learn about the Perinatal Action Network’s development of the Perinatal Continuum of Care tool in this video.
- Dive deeper into the Perinatal Continuum of Care and learn about how services across sectors can support families.
- PAN created a Toolkit for Action and training based on the Perinatal Continuum of Care framework to help providers and communities embrace their role in supporting perinatal mental health. For more information, contact Kelly Stainback-Tracy at kelly.stainback@dhha.org.
Even as we developed the tool for providers, PAN members elevated the need for a family-facing navigation tool that complimented the Perinatal Continuum of Care.
Becoming a parent can be hard. At Parents Thrive Colorado, we believe that the common struggles that families encounter can be supported through community-based resources. We recognize that families face many barriers to care, and a tool was needed for families that addressed these barriers to support pregnant and postpartum people in connecting to supports that address mental health and well-being. The resulting website is Parents Thrive Colorado, available in both English and Spanish.
For Pregnant and postpartum people and those who support them in Colorado, Parents Thrive is a user-friendly resource website that provides support for the mental and emotional challenges associated with pregnancy through relevant resources and relatable peer narratives. Parents Thrive goes beyond merely telling people they are not alone by curating real stories and peer narratives that reflect their lived experiences.
The resources and stories featured are intended to support all Colorado families. We honor the uniqueness and diversity of families. We recognize that congruence with family culture and identity can be important when considering resources. Our culture and identity feature helps connect families with culturally relevant resources, as defined by the families themselves.
Interested in joining the Programs & Services workgroup? Complete the contact form and indicate your interest and we will be in touch!
