Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Archives - Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies: the Montana Coalition

Nov 21

Stephanie Morton, MSW, 2025 Announced as Montana Healthcare Foundation Mignon Waterman Award Winner

By Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Maternal Mental Health

We’re honored to announce that Stephanie Morton, Executive Director of Health Mothers, Healthy Babies – The Montana Coalition (HMHB), is this year’s Mignon Waterman Award recipient in recognition of her leadership in making behavioral health services available to pregnant and postpartum women. Stephanie’s dedication to relationship-building, collaboration, and advocacy has driven innovation in and better access to perinatal mental health care across the state.

About the Award

In 2017, the Montana Healthcare Foundation created the Mignon Waterman Award to honor the life and legacy of their founding trustee, a tireless advocate for behavioral health in Montana. Each year, they accept nominations for individuals who embody the spirit of the award and have made significant contributions to improving behavioral health in Montana. Learn more about Mignon, the award, and previous recipients here.

Stephanie’s Impact

Under Stephanie’s leadership, HMHB has become a statewide anchor organization that supports better perinatal outcomes through providing organization, education, advocacy, programming, and training to communities statewide. Stephanie has made perinatal mental health a significant focus of HMHB’s work.

Stephanie’s dedicated, effective advocacy played a key role in two new policies that will improve care and outcomes for pregnant and postpartum women. In 2023, she advocated that Montana extend Medicaid coverage for pregnant women through one year postpartum (a critical period for recognizing and treating depression and other behavioral health conditions). In 2025, she collaborated with a diverse group of stakeholders to successfully advocate for a bill that created a license for doula services, a crucial step toward achieving public and private health insurance reimbursement. Both policies were passed and will improve access to care for many Montana families.

Stephanie and HMHB’s Major Initiatives

HMHB developed LIFTS (Linking Infants and Families to Supports), a statewide online resource guide, print magazine, and podcast that connects families to available resources – like mental health providers, substance use treatment, and support groups – in their community. This up-to-date database offers resources for urban, rural, and Native communities and is relied on by Meadowlark care coordinators in OB offices across the state. The annual magazine shares stories from Montana caregivers and normalizes accessing help at this critical time of life. The LIFTS Podcast shares stories about individuals who are transforming the care system for Montana mothers, babies, and families. It highlights innovative practices from direct service providers and perinatal mental health champions across the state.

HMHB prioritizes outreach to Native communities. Their innovative approach to partnership development is outlined in a 2024 article published in Health Affairs titled, “A Strategy to Support Perinatal Mental Health by Collaborating with Tribal Communities in Montana.” Under Stephanie’s leadership, the Native American Initiatives Program has continued to grow in connection with those serving Native families across Montana.

Stephanie is committed to collaboration and solving problems through building strong partnerships. Through her relationships with organizations like the Montana Psychiatric Access Line (MTPAL), the Maternal Supports (MOMS) Program, and The Meadowlark Initiative^®, Stephanie has played a crucial role in leading discussions and crafting toolkits to train caregivers in maternal mental health, facilitate organizational systems change, and improve health outcomes for moms and families.

We are grateful to the Montana Healthcare Foundation for all the strategic investments they make to improve health in Montana and for recognizing Stephanie’s work and supporting perinatal mental health across the state.

Sep 19

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Just Showing Up

By Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Parenting

By Mindy Petranek

This story appears in the 5th Annual LIFTS Magazine, where Montana parents share honest experiences about connection, resilience, and the journey through early parenthood.

It can be challenging to make friends in your adult life. I can’t count the number of times I’ve tried to connect with people and then they don’t ever call back. I just really crave that community.

We live on a ranch, a cattle operation, so things run around the schedules of what’s happening at the time: calving, branding – ranching kind of stuff.

One Christmas, my husband got me a gift certificate to a pottery class. I was super excited, but when it came time for the class, calving had begun. He said he thought I’d be able to sneak away for a couple hours in the evenings, but when it came down to it, we couldn’t make it work. We didn’t have any childcare, and it was just too crazy of a time.

Sometimes you have to cancel plans, and do what maintains your livelihood.

I was stuck in a period of feeling really low and lonely, and didn’t know how to break the cycle. I started looking for resources and found a baby storytime in the nearest big town. So I took a chance.

My son had really long hair at the time, and one week this gal came up to me and complimented his hair. That’s all it took: just her kind openness to tell me it was okay that I was doing things differently.

The next week I went to the library again, and saw the same gal. I thanked her for what she’d said about my son’s hair. She told me she was starting a mom’s group, and invited me to join. We exchanged numbers, and that’s how I started going to the Bad Moms Group.

The name of the group either sparks an interest or people are turned off by it. I love the truth of it, cause as a mom there are so many moments where I feel like I’m botching the job.

The moms group was an hour’s drive away, and the first time I went I was nervous, but excited to be out of the house by myself, listening to music as loud as I wanted. I felt like I had a grip on a little of me. When you become a mom, you can lose yourself, and it’s all about figuring out how to reinvent.

The way the group works is you just show up. Each meeting starts with the mission statement: to create a safe space for mamas to share in order to gain understanding and compassion for ourselves and others. Zero judgment. No one is to repeat what we say here. No interrupting, and only give input if the person sharing welcomes it or is asking for advice.

Connecting with other women about the challenges of motherhood gave me reassurance, comfort, and camaraderie. It was so much better than just packing all of my feelings into a hole and telling myself that I’m tough enough to handle it. A friend in the group once said to me, you’re always so tough – do you ever get tired of being tough?

A moms group can help you find a better head space, which will be tenfold worth it for yourself and your family. You can’t understand how much you need that outlet till you’re on your drive home and thinking: oh, I feel like me again.

Just stick with it and go out of your comfort zone. It will be worth it. A little bit of discomfort will help you grow.

Stories like this remind us that finding connection can make all the difference. If you’re looking for parenting support, mental health resources, or ways to connect with other families, visit HMHB-LIFTS.org.

May 30

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Family Care Spaces Across Montana

By Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Breastfeeding, Community, Indigineous Maternal Health

By Diona Buck, Native American Initiatives Program Coordinator

Photos contributed by MOMS and local Indigenous BirthWorkers

A Family Care Space is a space where mothers, parents, and families can come to feed their babies, change their baby’s diaper, and receive educational materials, and most importantly connect with local BirthWorkers. While the concept of Family Care Spaces at public events is not the first of its kind, the meaning of this movement for Tribal Communities in Montana lies in something deeper: the reclamation of Indigenous traditional ways.

Families attending cultural or public events often have to navigate the unique challenges like feeding their infants, changing diapers, or simply finding a quiet private area to care for their young children. Often times we see parents leaving events to go change or feed their babies in their cars, making these tasks harder than they should be. These needs, though common, are rarely addressed in event planning.

Family Care Spaces across Montana were developed not just to meet these needs, but to do so in a way that honored and recentered Indigenous Traditional Knowledge around the sacredness of birthing, parenting, and raising the next generations. These spaces are a reminder that as Indigenous people, we once surrounded birthing people with ceremony, care, and collective support. Parenting was not meant to be done in isolation but in community. It takes a village to raise a child.

A total of nine Family Care Space Kits, each equipped with a canopy tent with sidewalls, a portable diaper changing table, and a table and chairs, were funded through the Montana Obstetrics and Maternal Support (MOMS) program. These kits were distributed to six Tribal and three Urban Indian Communities across Montana to support the creation of Family Care Spaces into their communities. Since 2024, at least a dozen Family Care Spaces have been set up at local events and gatherings to support families.

Today, Indigenous doulas, lactation consultants, and maternal health champions are leading the way, working with community organizers to integrate these spaces into powwows, health fairs, and cultural gatherings. Key maternal health champions include Tribal Health programs, Public Health Nursing programs and Urban Indian organizations who recognize the importance of providing these spaces as a community. Family Care Space kits are stored with local organizations that have taken the initiative to lead this effort in their communities. But this work is not done alone. At its core, this initiative is about community collaboration, bringing together BirthWorkers, families, Elders, health departments, and event organizers to uplift and care for our families.

HMHB Native American Initiatives is able to continue supporting the Family Care Space initiative. Vital to this work is Diona Buck, who is Nakoda from the Fort Belknap Indian Community and a descendant of the Aaniiih Tribe and currently serves as the Native American Initiatives Program Coordinator. In her role at HMHB, Diona continues to uplift and expand Family Care Spaces across Montana by connecting with Indigenous BirthWorkers and maternal health champions and guiding communities in creating these spaces.

The Family Care Space Toolkit was developed in January 2024 by Diona Buck. If you or your organization are interested in bringing a Family Care Space to your next event or would like to collaborate, we encourage you to reach out to Diona at diona@hmhb-mt.org. We would be honored to connect you with local maternal health champions and support you in creating a space that reflects and uplifts your community.

May 15

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Honoring Stories. Elevating Care.

By Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Maternal Mental Health

By Emily Freeman, HMHB Storytelling Coordinator

Photos by Kim Giannone

May is Maternal Mental Health Month.

Maternal Mental Health Month can be a good time to remember that motherhood doesn’t always feel – on the inside – quite the same way it appears on the outside. All manner of challenges and stressors may lurk behind the smiling family portrait posted on social media. That perfect mom you see at pre-school pick-up? She may be holding back deep grief over a lost pregnancy, or shame about needing help with a problem she can’t yet put words to, the solution to which she can’t yet identify.

Perinatal mental health challenges can vary widely. While some issues may require robust support from trained professionals and systems, others can be helped along through person-to-person, community-based care, which we can all be a part of. This can be as simple as smiling at a struggling mom to make her feel seen, and not like her crying baby is a burden; it can be a few small words spoken to a stranger in line at the grocery store: You’re doing great. It can be a weekly moms meetup at the park that begins as a group of strangers, and soon becomes a place to connect, to vent, to heal. These points of human connection are so important.

Real Stories from Montana Moms

At HMHB, Maternal Mental Health Month provides us with an opportunity to highlight some of the lived experiences that mothers across the state have been bold and generous enough to share. In last year’s issue of LIFTS magazine, Shayla Horner wrote about the support and medical advice she received for her bipolar disorder, allowing her to become the strong and stable mom her daughters deserve. Kelsie Christensen wrote about the encouragement she received from a local moms group which helped her manage her anxiety in the early months of motherhood. On the Mother Love podcast, Rachael Watters shared her harrowing journey through postpartum psychosis, and how she continues to grow and heal.

Insights from Perinatal Mental Health Experts

In addition to these invaluable stories from moms, we’re honored to be able to share the lived experience of our trusted network experts and providers working with, and for, moms and families during this season of life. In the 2023 edition of LIFTS, Dr. Ariela Frieder offered her wisdom and expertise as a perinatal psychiatrist, including a perinatal mood and anxiety disorder checklist for moms, and resources to guide them towards getting the help they might need.

Recent guests on the Mother Love podcast have included Amy Lowney, a labor and delivery nurse who pivoted to postpartum doula work to better address the mental and emotional needs of moms after they left the hospital. Last year, we spoke with perinatal mental health expert Diana Barnes, an episode which not only addressed the way that maternal mental health can have unintended legal consequences, but provided an opportunity for listeners to hear mothers across two generations in conversation about their own experiences with postpartum mood disorders.

Explore the LIFTS Resource Guide

Maternal Mental Health is a good time to share and bookmark our LIFTS online resource guide. LIFTS offers a searchable, and frequently updated, database of resources around the state, with categories such as Mental Health Providers, Family Support and Education, Cultural Connections, and more. It’s a great resource to share with parents, or with providers who interface with, and support, families during this season of life.

In June, we’re hosting the 8th annual Perinatal Mental Health Conference, a chance for providers from across the state to come together to share, strategize, and enjoy the camaraderie of a vast network of those who work collectively to improve and sustain the health of moms in our state. We’re looking forward to learning together, and pooling the knowledge that each of us will bring from our different pocket of this vast and diversely resourced state. You can get a taste of the conference by viewing Dr. Samantha Greenberg’s “Perinatal Mental Health 101” session from last year’s conference. If you’d like to join us this year, you can find more information and register here.

Apr 18

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Celebrate National Home Visiting Week: April 21 – 25, 2025

By Lauren Johnson Early Childhood, pregnancy

National Home Visiting Week is almost here!

The week of April 21–25 is a time to spotlight the essential role home visiting programs play in strengthening Montana families during pregnancy and early childhood. Whether it’s offering early nutrition and lactation support or simply providing encouragement and guidance during those overwhelming early days, the impact of home visiting is tremendous.

What Is Home Visiting?

Home visiting is a voluntary, evidence-based service that connects trained professionals—like nurses, social workers, and child development specialists—with expecting parents and families with young children. These programs provide coaching, education, and emotional support tailored to each family’s unique needs.

Why It Matters

Studies consistently show that home visiting leads to:

Improved maternal and infant health
Increased school readiness
Strengthened parent-child relationships
Reduced instances of child maltreatment

A Thank You to Montana’s Home Visitors

We want to take this opportunity to express our deepest gratitude to the home visitors across Montana who show up every day to support families. Your dedication creates ripples of positive change that last a lifetime. Thank you for the care, compassion, and consistency you bring to your work.

Home Visiting Frequently Asked Questions

(As featured in the 2024 issue of LIFTS magazine, alongside real family stories highlighting the life-changing impact of home visiting.)

What is a home visiting program and how can it benefit my family?

Home visiting is a voluntary, proven support and coaching service that strengthens families through pregnancy and early childhood. Trained home visitors, such as nurses and early childhood specialists, work with expecting parents and caregivers of young children, to build parenting skills and connect families with needed services to support optimal physical, social, and emotional child development.

Who can participate in a home visiting program?

Eligibility for home visiting programs varies by program, but some are available regardless of income or background. Currently, not all areas in Montana have the same access to home visiting programs, but statewide work is being done to change this!

Can both parents participate in the visits?

Absolutely! Home visiting programs encourage the involvement of both parents. Mom, dad, grandparents, siblings and any caregiver who is important in the child’s life are usually welcome to participate!

How do I sign up for a home visiting program?

The best way to sign up for home visiting is to reach out to a local program near you. You can use the LIFTS Online Resource Guide to find home visiting sites across Montana by typing in “home visiting” in the Search feature. If you have trouble locating one, please call the LIFTS Warmline at (406) 430-9100 for assistance.

What happens during a home visit?

During a home visit, the visitor will provide personalized support based on your family’s needs to increase your competence and confidence in parenting. This may include discussing your child’s development, answering parenting questions, providing lactation support, offering health and safety tips, and connecting you with community resources.

Is there a cost to participate in a home visiting program?

Most home visiting programs are offered at no cost to families. They are often funded by state or federal programs, non-profits, or community organizations.

What if I’m not able to have someone visit my home or I don’t have a home?

Home visiting programs are designed to be supportive and non-intrusive. If you have concerns, you can discuss them with the program coordinator to find a solution that works for you, such as virtual visits or meetings in community spaces like a library or coffee shop.

Will the program help with special needs or high-risk situations?

Yes. Home visitors are trained to support families in various situations, including those with special needs or who are experiencing high-risk circumstances. They can connect you with additional support and services as needed, such as medical case management by nurses for medically fragile children.

About the Montana Home Visiting Coalition

At Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies, we’re proud to collaborate with the Montana Home Visiting Coalition, a network of home visiting professionals working together to advocate for families across the state.

Founded in 2021, the coalition was created in response to the growing need for expanded funding and equitable access to home visiting services. Despite strong evidence showing a high return on investment, waiting lists remain long, and many families are left unserved due to current funding limitations.

The coalition’s mission is to:

Expand home visiting availability statewide
Secure sustainable funding at both the state and federal levels
Ensure all Montana families have the opportunity to thrive

To learn more about home visiting in Montana or to find a program near you, visit hmhb-lifts.org and search “Home Visiting.”

Jan 09

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2024 HMHB Year in Review

By Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Community, Community Support, Early Childhood, Montana Early Childhood Coalition, Native American Initiatives, Published Work

With the close of 2024, we’re reflecting on a year filled with meaningful milestones, new connections, and impactful work at HMHB-MT. From expanding our team to strengthening collaborations, this year has been one of growth and inspiration. Join us as we look back on some of the highlights that made 2024 so remarkable!

January

We started the year strong with a team retreat in Helena, welcoming two new team members: Hollin Buck, Program Manager and Lauren Johnson, Director of Communications and Outreach. Together, we set our intentions for the year and bonded through team-building activities.

Dr. Amy Stiffarm traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with HRSA (Health Resources & Services Administration) officials, sharing valuable insights about our collaborative work with state partners.

February

HMHB Team members attended The 2024 Montana Winter Institute on Improving Public Health through Positive Experiences, learning about the impacts of supportive and caring experiences for child and families and how communities can support them.

Claire Larson continued to craft new episodes of the Mother Love podcast, featuring powerful stories from mothers and care providers across Montana.

March

We put more momentum behind our Look Closer public messaging campaign, working to decrease negative biases around perinatal substance use disorders. This free, downloadable campaign fosters kindness and compassion, encouraging those struggling with unhealthy substance use to ask for help and for providers who may serve them to meet those requests with understanding.

Dr. Amy Stiffarm took the lead in organizing a series of Indigenous doula networking events, strengthening connections and support for Indigenous birth workers.

April

We were thrilled to have our article, “A Strategy to Support Perinatal Mental Health by Collaborating With Tribal Communities in Montana,” published in Health Affairs’ April issue. Co-authored by Dr. Amy Stiffarm, Stephanie Morton, Dawn Gunderson, and former Executive Director, Brie MacLaurin, this piece highlights critical work in improving maternal mental health.

May

May brought bittersweet farewells as we said goodbye to Claire Larson, who released her final episode of the Mother Love podcast.

This month we were especially grateful for funders and supporters. We celebrated receiving a grant from the Women’s Foundation of Montana, allowing HMHB to begin more formally support building the doula and birth worker workforce in Montana. The Helena Exchange Club and Gulch Distillers generously hosted a pint night fundraiser on our behalf for Mother’s Day.

Dr. Amy Stiffarm also collaborated with the Family Medicine Residency of Western Montana to enhance understanding of Indigenous perinatal cultural safety.

June

Dr. Amy Stiffarm unveiled an updated version of the Cultural Safety for Indigenous Women and Birthing People Toolkit, offering vital resources for providers supporting Indigenous families during the perinatal period.

Several staff members attended The Montana Healthcare Foundation’s 2024 Symposium as part of our work on the Meadowlark Initiatives. We also participated in Early Childhood Strategic Planning hosted by the Early Childhood and Family Services Division of DPHHS.

Our Essentials Program received $35,000 from the Otto Bremer Trust Community Responsive Fund at Montana Community Foundation. These funds will help us to continue distributing safe sleep kits and car seats to family support providers across the state, to provide to families and caregivers, giving them the essential tools and information they need to care for their children. Through the Essentials program, in 2024 we distributed 363 safe sleep kits; 420 car seats; and served 527 unique families across Montana.

July

We convened an in-person meeting of the Montana Early Childhood Coalition alongside our coalition co-conveners, The University of Montana Center for Children Families and Workforce Development and Zero to Five. We also co-hosted a day long training with our partners in the Injury Prevention Bureau at DPHHS, called Resilience Rising: Navigating Through Adversity and Cultivating Positive Childhood Experiences.

August

The fourth annual edition of LIFTS Magazine was published, featuring stories from Montana parents and caregivers sharing about how asking for help has transformed the lives of Montana families. With 14,000 copies distributed to nearly 100 sites statewide, this edition continues to inspire and inform about when getting help, helps.

Dr. Amy Stiffarm delivered a keynote address at the inaugural Indigenous Milk Medicine Conference, a keystone event for Indigenous maternal and child health.

September

We hosted Dr. Samantha Greenberg’s virtual Perinatal Mental Health 101 series—a free webinar designed to raise awareness among Montana professionals about perinatal mental health.

The Montana Home Visiting Coalition, co-convened The Home Visiting Summit with the Early Childhood and Family Services Bureau of DPHHS. This provided an opportunity to connect with passionate home visitors through training and shared experiences.

This year, we dedicated significant time to improving the back end of our LIFTS Online Resource guide, focusing on making the overall experience more user-friendly. This fall, we were excited to

complete several meaningful updates and look forward to continuing to expand and enhance the capabilities of LIFTS.

October

Our 2024 Perinatal Mental Health Conference returned to an in-person format in Helena, reuniting partners from across the state. Nearly 200 providers, advocates and system champions gathered to learn and celebrate together. A standout moment was the screening of the impactful documentary film, Siloed, and the addition of poster sessions featuring local level work from around Montana.

We also received incredible news of funding from the Arthur M. Blank West Foundation, to support our storytelling work and build a strong administrative foundation for our growing organization.

November

We were thrilled to welcome two familiar faces to our team: Chelsea Bellon as the Native American Initiatives Program Manager and Emily Freeman as our new Storytelling Coordinator. We were excited to welcome their expertise and passion to our team.

Dr. Amy Stiffarm returned to Washington, D.C., to address the 2024 Tribal Prenatal-to-Three Policy Agenda, spotlighting critical issues facing AI/AN mothers, children, and families.

December

Stephanie Morton represented HMHB at the NCIT Paid Family & Medical Leave Education Initiative Convening and PN3 Policy Impact Center’s Great Opportunities, Great Progress event in Denver.

HMHB worked closely with Montana Doula Collaborative, Indigenous Birth workers network and state and national experts to draft a bill to create a state certification for doulas and birth workers, a key step to expanding access to these critical supports during and after pregnancy.

As we wrapped up 2024, we looked ahead to the 2025 Legislative Session the much-anticipated release of the fourth season of the Mother Love podcast in January, and continuing to build and deepen relationships to support the collaborative and impactful work of building a better system to improve the lives of moms, babies and families in Montana.

Looking Ahead

2024 was a year for HMHB filled with growth, collaboration, and impact. We are energized to carry this momentum into 2025 as we continue to support the work and partners helping Montana families.

Nov 15

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Supporting Montana’s Youngest Through Early Intervention: Updates from Montana Milestones/Part C

By Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies advocacy, Early Childhood

Montana Milestones/Part C is Montana’s early intervention program, and Sandy Cade, the Part C Coordinator, has provided some essential updates on changes to Early Intervention providers, along with helpful resources and contacts. Montana Milestones/Part C partners an early intervention specialist with a family to support caregivers in learning strategies to encourage the growth and development of children with developmental delays or disabilities. Early intervention is a program provided FREE to all eligible children and families. Read on to learn more about the updates and resources available to families and partners who work closely with children in need of early intervention support.

Message from Sandy Cade, Part C Coordinator

My name is Sandy Cade, and I serve as the Part C Coordinator for Montana. On behalf of Part C, I’m reaching out to you as valued partners who work with families of infants or toddlers that may be eligible for Early Intervention Part C services.

Research shows that early intervention can help children develop the skills they need to be successful, and it can also improve family relationships and mental health.

Montana Milestones/Part C of the IDEA Early Intervention Program is Montana’s comprehensive system of early intervention services and supports for families who have infants or toddlers, from birth through three, who have significant developmental delays or have been diagnosed with a condition associated with significant delays in development. Montana Milestones is funded through an annual federal grant under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and legislatively appropriated State General Fund dollars.

Infants and toddlers come into Early Intervention through multiple doors, and because of your work, it’s important to make available current contact information to submit a referral and connect families or professionals to EI.

Please find note the following documents:

A statewide map of Part C Early Intervention providers with associated county
A list of those providers with contact information

Additional information including making a referral can be located at Montana Milestones (mt.gov). Please share this information broadly with local partners and staff.

part c regional map

Part C Early Intervention Provider	Contact Information
Developmental Educational Assistance Program	DEAP 2200 Box Elder St, Miles City, MT 59301 (406) 234-6034
Benchmark Human Services	Benchmark Human Services 1601 2nd Ave N, Great Falls, MT 59401 (406) 403-0087
Early Childhood Intervention	Early Childhood Intervention 2016 Grand Ave, Billings, MT 59102 (406) 281-5885
Family Outreach	Family Outreach, Inc., Children’s Services 1212 Helena Ave, Helena, MT 59601 (406) 442-1571

Thank you to Sandy Cade for providing these updates. We hope you’ll use these resources to support families and children throughout Montana. Act early-if concerned about a child meeting his/her developmental milestones, talk to the parents/caregivers and make a referral! Early intervention can make a lasting difference, and by working together, we can help children reach their full potential.

Nov 08

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7th Annual Perinatal Mental Health Conference Recap

By Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Community, Community Support, Maternal Mental Health, Perinatal Substance Use Disorders, Self-care

The HMHB team is grateful for the opportunity to reflect on the 7th Annual Perinatal Mental Health Conference. Returning to in-person convening, we valued the chance to connect face-to-face with participants, speakers, partners, exhibitors, and sponsors. We also enjoyed moments of virtual connection and were thankful to balance in-person and online options for people working across the state of Montana to support perinatal mental health. Our heartfelt thanks go to everyone who gathered in person or online to make this event meaningful.

Perinatal Mental Health 101

The conference kicked off in September with two bonus Perinatal Mental Health 101 sessions led by Dr. Samantha Greenberg. These foundational sessions provided valuable insights for individuals new to the perinatal mental health field or those looking to deepen their understanding of the basics. Dr. Greenberg’s content remains accessible to all on the HMHB website.

In-Person Conference

On October 15-16, the in-person conference was held at the Delta Colonial Hotel in Helena, MT, where over 150 attendees joined for learning, connection, and sharing. Presenters thoughtfully crafted sessions on topics ranging from lived experiences in perinatal mental health to doula work and pelvic floor health. We are deeply thankful for the panelists who kindly shared their insights, lived experiences, and expertise. In a community engagement poster session, twelve groups from across Montana shared about their impactful, community-based work supporting perinatal mental health.

Keynote speaker, Dr. Pooja Lakshmin, offered insights on Real Self-Care from her bestselling book—a reminder of the importance of self-care for those dedicated to caring for others.

Another memorable moment was the screening of the documentary film SILOED, followed by a panel led by Director Hazel Cramer. This discussion covered the journey of making the film and thoughtful (and sometimes funny!) conversations among participants surrounding mental health.

Virtual Advanced Training Sessions

Two days of virtual learning took place on October 22 and 24, covering Perinatal Substance Use and Perinatal Nutrition. These sessions featured local and national experts, allowing attendees to continue engaging and connecting through our virtual platform, Whova. You can explore the full conference agenda here.

We Can’t Wait for Next Year!

We are already excited to start planning our 8th Annual Perinatal Mental Health Conference! To stay updated on next year’s conference dates and content, please subscribe to the HMHB newsletter or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Thanks to Exhibitors!

Thanks to Sponsors!

pmhc SPONSORS

Thanks to Our Event Manager!

We also wanted to share our gratitude for our amazing Event Manager, Anna Strange. This event wouldn’t have been the same without her kindness, creativity and attention to detail.

We are grateful to all who participated for their support and contributions to this event!