VOICES

  

"Opportunity means nothing if a mother cannot access the mental health support she needs to survive the year after giving birth."

We Were Never Meant to Carry This Alone

By Commissioner Erica C. Crawley, Franklin County Board of Commissioners 

On March 7, I had the honor of serving as Honorary Chair for the 4th Annual Maternal Mental Health Summit, hosted by the Wrights Way Foundation at Nationwide Children's Hospital. When Trish Wright called, there was only one answer, because this issue is personal to me and our mothers deserve to hear that from someone in a position like mine.

Nationally, mental health conditions are the leading cause of maternal death. Not hemorrhage. Not hypertension. Mental health. According to the CDC's Maternal Mortality Review Committees, suicide and overdose account for 23 percent of pregnancy-related deaths in this country; hemorrhage, the second leading cause, accounts for 14 percent.¹ And 1 in 5 women experience a mental health condition during pregnancy or in the year after birth.² Many of our mothers are already carrying something before they ever walk into a delivery room.

We are not screening early enough. Less than 20 percent of women are screened for maternal mental health disorders.³ We are not following up consistently in the postpartum period, when the risk is actually highest. Too many women are suffering in silence, because the stigma around asking for help is still louder than the support we are offering.

I know this from the inside. I have lived through moments where I understood exactly what it felt like to carry something heavy and believe I had no right to put it down. To look capable on the outside. To hold titles, show up for everyone else, and quietly drown.

Stigma does not care about your credentials or your position. It tells you to be strong, to push through, to protect your image. What changed things for me was being in a space where other women told the truth about their experiences. Where I did not have to perform. Where I did not have to pretend. Where the message was clear: you were never meant to carry this alone.

The Wrights Way Foundation builds that kind of community. One that picks each other up, shows up with grace and resources, and speaks truth when it would be easier to stay quiet. Their work says: I see you, and you are not failing. You are healing.

Since 2018, they have delivered hundreds of free NICU care packages to families at Riverside Methodist and beyond, run monthly mental health screenings, and built a wrap-around program that follows families from hospital discharge through a baby's first year. Their resources are available in English, Spanish, and Somali, because they understand that support has to meet families where they are.

At Franklin County, we talk about being the Opportunity County, but opportunity means nothing if a mother cannot access the mental health support she needs to survive the year after giving birth. Every mother deserves to be screened, supported, and seen. Not just during pregnancy, but through the full journey. No NICU family should walk their path alone.

Progress is happening. But the work ahead still demands urgency, compassion, and accountability. If you were in that room on Saturday, or if you are reading this now, I consider you a neighbor and a partner in this mission. We do not get to stop until every mother in Franklin County has a safe, stable foundation from which to heal and to thrive.

About Wright's Way Foundation: Wright's Way Foundation is a Columbus-based nonprofit providing maternal mental health and NICU support resources to families in Central Ohio and beyond. Founded in 2018, the organization offers free NICU care packages, monthly mental health screenings, parent support groups, and a wrap-around program supporting families from discharge through baby's first year. Resources are available in English, Spanish, and Somali. Learn more at wrightswayfoundation.org.

Sources

1. CDC / Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRCs), 36 US States, 2017–2019. Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health Fact Sheet, citing CDC ERASE MM data.
2. CDC / MMRC data, cited in JAMA Psychiatry (Wisner et al., 2024). Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health Fact Sheet.
3. Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health Fact Sheet, citing Burkhard, J. (2022), U.S. Maternal Depression Screening Rates Released for the First Time Through HEDIS. policycentermmh.org.