Addressing Risk for Depression and Unmet Social Needs among Immigrant Latina Mothers

Our goal is to address the mental health and social needs in limited English proficient (LEP) Latina mothers of young children. We have adapted and begun piloting an evidence-based, group intervention for the prevention of maternal depression, Mothers and Babies, in partnership with early learning centers. Early learning center staff recommend program participation to women in their existing programs or who otherwise seem likely to benefit from Mothers and Babies. A therapist co-facilitates the 12-session intervention with a community health worker or school staff. The first pilot program was hosted in-person at an early learning center in January 2020.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic we converted the program to a virtual format and added an “ask the doctor,” component to each session to answer participants’ (public) health questions. We started a second virtual round of the Mothers and Babies in October 2020 with mother participants from 2 early learning centers. Preliminary results indicate that the program is feasible and acceptable. Next steps are to, 1) work with a multisector stakeholder network to create a sustainability plan, 2) continue program evaluation and 3) incorporate addressing food insecurity into the existing program.