I AM ONE Podcast by Postpartum Support International

Maternal Mental Health Month 2026

• Episode 69

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On today’s episode, we’re joined by the one, the only, Katie Crenshaw - PSI’s Brand & Integrated Marketing Manager - to chat all about Maternal Mental Health Month 2026. We’ll cover the need-to-know details: what Maternal Mental Health Month is, why awareness matters, how you can get involved, and of course, all of our other burning questions. We’ll talk about PSI’s Connect the Dots campaign, the power of storytelling, and how sharing real experiences can help reduce stigma, build connection, and even save lives. So, without any further ado, please sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode spotlighting Maternal Mental Health Month 2026.

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Dani:

Welcome to the I Am One podcast. On today's episode, we're joined by the one, the only, Katie Crenshaw, PSI's brand and integrated marketing manager, to chat all about Maternal Mental Health Month 2026. We'll cover all the need-to-know details, what Maternal Mental Health Month is, why it matters, how you can get involved, and of course, all of our other burning questions, of which we have many. We'll talk about PSI's Connect the Dots campaign, the power of storytelling, our favorite, and how sharing real experiences can help reduce stigma, build connection, and even save lives. So without any further ado, please sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode, spotlighting Maternal Mental Health Month 2026.

Emily:

Katie, welcome to the studio. We're so lucky to have you back.

Katie:

Happy to be here. Thanks for having me.

Dani:

Okay, so for anyone who is new to PSI, Katie, can you just set the stage? Who are you? Oh, no, I just gave too much away. I said your first name.

Katie:

Oh, way to go.

Dani:

Tell us who you are and what does PSI do?

Katie:

Sure. I'm Katie and I'm working on brand and integrated marketing for PSI. I started out solely working with The Blue Dot Project. And since we have been kind of integrating that and the other programs all together so that we can just kind of build more awareness in general for perinatal mental health and all the offerings that PSI really has. PSI has actually been around for almost 40 years, and there are so many resources for parents and families. We have a helpline, peer support groups, provider training, advocacy, but all of it falls under the umbrella that what happens to parents mentally during pregnancy and after birth really matters. It's common and it is treatable.

Emily:

Yes, it is.

Dani:

Yes.

Emily:

I love that PSI is like almost middle-aged. as an organization, right?

Dani:

I'm in my 40s.

Katie:

I'm going to be 40 next month.

Dani:

Oh, my gosh. Happy early birthday.

Emily:

Oh, my God. I mean, party at Katie's house. Anyway. So, Katie, May is Maternal Mental Health Month. Can you tell us what this means and why it matters? Like, why is there a whole month dedicated to this?

Katie:

It matters because the rest of the year, It's still a stigmatized conversation. It's still a silent conversation. It still sort of centers around shame a lot. Or it's skipped entirely. We have a whole cultural script around new parenthood that should be joy and gratitude and cherishing every moment. And it doesn't leave a lot of room for the reality, which is that one in five moms will experience a perinatal mental health disorder. It's not a fringed statistic. It's the number one complication of childbirth. So May is when we are the loudest about maternal mental health, as opposed to mental health in general to just try to get more awareness on the issue that is affecting almost every family... ever.

Dani:

Exactly. And I mean, that's the truth, because even if you did not experience a perinatal mental health disorder...

Katie:

You know somebody who did.

Dani:

You know lots of somebodies.

Emily:

Yeah, I was going to say, you know several somebodies probably.

Dani:

Exactly.

Katie:

And that's just who seeks help. So that's just who we know about.

Dani:

Yeah, I was not part of that statistic because I didn't seek help until, yeah.

Katie:

I didn't until my second. So yeah.

Dani:

Mm-hmm. Okay. So this brings us to the campaign. It is called Connect the Dots. And I love that name. And I would love to hear more about that. Where does it come from? What does it mean? Tell us all about it, Katie.

Katie:

I could probably do an hour just on this because this is my favorite thing. My favorite thing is like bringing awareness through a brand image for purpose-driven causes because I love brand, I love marketing, but it's just not as meaningful for me unless I'm doing it for a good cause. And maternal mental health is my cause. It has been for a long time. I've been talking about it since I was a creator, before I was even doing brand and marketing on this side of things. And The Blue Dot has also always been important to me. And when I came to PSI and started to work on how we could incorporate more awareness around The Blue Dot so that we really do have a universal symbol of perinatal mental health awareness, much like the pink ribbon is for breast cancer. We really want to do more to make The Blue Dot more recognizable and accessible to everyone.

Emily:

And blue's a great color, just objectively.

Dani:

Blue's a great color and we're into it.

Katie:

Yes. It's like my favorite color anyway, so I'm down.

Emily:

Same.

Katie:

And that's been really fun because luckily I had so many ideas for how we could create the campaign this year that focuses more on The Blue Dot. And Connect the Dots just kept coming to me as not only a way that we connect to each other, that we're all sort of dots, even those of us who are supporters, those of us who are survivors. We all are connected and everything affects all of us. At the end of the day, parents affect the health of the family, which affects the health of the community and so on. And Connecting the Dots just kept ringing as something that would resonate. And then also just the idea that PSI offers so many different lanes of support for both professionals and help seekers. Those are also dots. And so the people dots can be connected to the support dots and all of those things. So we are structuring this campaign in May week by week. And the first week we're kind of focusing on the statistics of it all, the scale and that impact. And then the story. We're going to have many creators sharing their own stories this month.

Dani:

Awesome.

Katie:

From the story to the support, which is like all the different channels PSI offers for anyone to seek help if they are in any way connected to perinatal mental health conditions. And then from that, the last week of the month, we're going to focus on solidarity and how it all comes together and how we're all part of this bigger network. And the little mark creates a massive movement, if you will.

Dani:

Yeah, I love that imagery because it really takes trained providers and support folks like, you know, there are tons of ways that parents and families can be supported and PSI provides all kinds of services for that. And folks in local communities, it takes everybody kind of understanding each other and working together to be better informed about like, what kind of help can I get? It's okay for me to talk about it. For providers to know, like to be skilled with and speaking to patients so that they feel comfortable talking about what's really going on and getting them connected to services in their area. So then it doesn't feel so bad and that they can get the help that they need. And I just love the imagery of connecting all of those dots. We are all blue dots. We are all, you know, and making sure that we're making those connection points. I love that. So great idea for the campaign this year.

Katie:

I'm excited. And I think it's something that can be evergreen in that we can keep talking about and we can keep talking about connecting the dots and all the different things the dots can represent.

Dani:

Yeah.

Emily:

Exactly. When you think about like PSI's core message, which is you are not alone. Like we all feel like we're this isolated dot in space, but we're proving that we're connected. We are on the other side. We know that. But there are people who are still feeling like an isolated little dot.

Dani:

Just floating around.

Emily:

Yep.

Dani:

Is anybody out there? Out there? Out there– out there. Like that's what it felt like.

Katie:

Yeah, and there's so many different ways you can feel like that. Not only like I am isolated because I don't have community, I'm isolated because I can't find support. I'm isolated because I feel like I'm the only one experiencing this.

Emily:

Yeah.

Katie:

Connecting the dots isn't just reminding people of how common and the scale of everything is, but, you know, also empowering people that their story is important as a supporter and as a survivor. Honestly, the biggest thing we can do is create more solidarity and that takes speaking up.

Emily:

Exactly. So this is tied to The Blue Dot Project. Can you explain what that is and how it's all connected? Because it is all connected.

Dani:

I see what you did there.

Katie:

So The Blue Dot Project was originally part of another maternal mental health organization that has since changed to more policy based work. And PSI sort of adopted The Blue Dot Project after I was a spokesperson. So I was a spokesperson in 2020. And then they moved to PSI, I think like two years later, maybe. I think that was when I was like, I want to work there. If anybody has an opening, keep me in mind. And then I just like waited a couple of years till there was an opening. And I was super excited to come on board. I love the idea of The Blue Dot Project. Originally, it was created as an awareness program to bring awareness to The Blue Dot as the universal symbol of perinatal mental health. And they've done a great job since then. And now what we're trying to do is just kind of really integrate it further into PSI's existing stuff and image so that it can be even more and more recognized and we can kind of creatively, subliminally put blue dots in everybody's brain. Just kidding.

Emily:

I mean, polka dots are about to be back, people.

Katie:

Yeah, truly.

Dani:

We'll drop a link in the show notes to all of the merch, all the hottest shirts, pants, sleepwear with dots. I'm kidding.

Katie:

So we want The Blue Dot to be as recognizable as the pink ribbon is. It's not trademarked. Anybody can use it. Anybody can use their interpretation of it. Same like the pink ribbon, which is just like probably the most commonly referenced symbol of awareness. So the dot is like the mark and The Blue Dot project was the initiative that was kind of built around it to grow awareness. We're currently creating Blue Dot spots in communities. We just wrapped like a pilot program, which will designate facilities as safe-ish for, you know, moms to or parents to come and speak about their concerns with perinatal mental health. And ideally, in these facilities, the staff will be trained to handle that and direct them to the proper resources–

Emily:

like us.

Katie:

Yeah, we are the proper resources.

Emily:

Exactly.

Katie:

So hopefully, ultimately, The Blue Dot just continues to grow as more of a movement and an awareness campaign.

Dani:

Awesome. OK, so it's about to be May. Katie, can you walk me through how does the campaign actually unfold in May? Because from what I understand, it's like not just one big announcement that happens. It's like many things that happen over the month. So can you tell us about what happens in May?

Katie:

Yeah, I think I like accidentally spoiled a little bit of that already, but-

Dani:

That's OK.

Emily:

It's fine.

Katie:

We have four pillars and they build on each other each week. So if there's like four weeks that we're doing in May, the first week we're talking about statistics. We're leading with like the facts and just kind of the staggering scale of perinatal mental health conditions. So many people don't even realize it's the number one complication of childbirth. And that is in itself huge or that one in five moms, you know, will experience this. And that's just what we know of. So we really want people to stop scrolling and like feel the weight of that. And then the next week will be stories, real parents, experiences from people with a variety of lived experience from, you know, supporting someone to I think we have, you know, people that will talk about loss, people that will talk about surrogacy. There's a lot of various stories. It's not just here's a bunch of people talking about their postpartum depression and sitting in a window crying. That's like the media's kind of portrayal of what perinatal mental health is, but it can be so many different things. So this is going to be really valuable because we want to humanize this a lot as well. It's not just numbers.

Dani:

Yeah.

Katie:

And then, yeah, the third week we're going to talk about support. Hopefully by now people are paying attention and feeling something and can pivot to absorbing like what kind of resources are available. There's a helpline, there's peer groups, you know, we can help you find a provider at PSI. There's so many different things we offer that, you know, it's great that we have so many things to offer. And it can also be difficult to get that information out there because there's so much. We have a robust offering of resources and support. And we want to really make sure we're giving that a lot of screen time. And then the last week is solidarity. We're just going to close the month with the collective energy that you are not alone. We're all in this together, no matter who you are. And we all owe families a better future by paying attention to this. And this is a movement that we can all be a part of. There will be lots of people with lived experience, providers, content creators. We have a lot of people who've committed to tell their stories and we'll be publishing those throughout the month. So I'm really excited about it.

Dani:

Oh, yeah. I'm excited, too.

Emily:

OK, so if you are a parent and you're like in the middle of it right now and you're like, this is hard, you can't even name it, maybe. What are you going to take away? What would I take away in that position from this campaign?

Katie:

Man, all the time, I hope people take these same messages away. I just spoke at a conference last week about why it's important how we talk about maternal mental health and perinatal mental health in the media. And by the way, we're all the media because we all have social media and we all leave public comments. And, you know, this is something we can all participate in. But one of the things that is huge is realizing that what you're feeling has a name. That's the first step. Having the language and the name really takes a big weight off of the fear of like, what is going on with me? Is this normal? You know, all of these things, especially when you don't understand that one out of every five of your friends at least probably went through it, even if they haven't talked about it. Just that kind of, oh, OK, this actually is a big deal. And I'm not alone, and I'm not crazy. Just by knowing how many people this is really affecting. And then, I mean, there's study after study about how important it is to hear someone else's story and what that can do to people who are feeling isolated. It's a huge deal just to hear somebody else's story that might be similar, even if there's no solution offered or even if there's finding community in that way, even when it's online, is extremely valuable.

Dani:

Right.

Emily:

Absolutely.

Katie:

And then obviously we want to make sure more and more people are aware of what help is out there. It's also a common misconception, especially when you're in the throes of your brain telling lies to you, that there isn't anything that can be done. And well, great, I have this thing, but where's the help? And like, there's nothing that can be done. Or maybe I tried to get help and it failed. So I'm not going to try anything else because I think I'm beyond help. Or there's a lot of- you know, I can relate to having had all those feelings.

Dani:

Yeah.

Katie:

We want people to know that there's support groups. That doesn't feel like a good fit? What about a peer support program? That's not your jam right now? Maybe we can help you find a local provider. Like there's a million different ways that we can start to offer like all these kind of, you know, healing paths. And again, it's hard to list all the things at once and like put it everywhere. So that's why we have all these programs and initiatives in place to try to make sure this is getting out there a lot more. And throughout the year, we hope May is like the biggest spike in awareness because of the amount of content we're putting out about it. And that really depends highly on people that are participating. And, you know, not just content creators, not just influencers, but every parent that has a story that shares will inevitably reach someone that needs to know that these things exist. And even if you have an audience of 50, somebody's life could be saved literally by you telling your story, so.

Emily:

I mean, that's the math, right?

Dani:

Yeah.

Katie:

It's not even up for debate. Like I was I was telling people last week, like I'm not saying this as a marketing ploy, like, storytelling saves lives because statistically storytelling saves lives. Like this is real data that we have. And, you know, I mean, we can find sources for you guys. But I mean, like this is pretty basic sociology. Sharing stories makes people feel less alone. And I'm sure everybody can relate to having read a story that made you feel less alone. It's just very powerful. And I had people asking questions in my talk. Like the people in my talk were journalists and influencers, creators, people who are producing more media than the rest of us on a regular basis. But, you know, someone talked about having concerns about like they were like, I'm not worried about what strangers will think, but I'm worried about what like my in-laws will think or like my parents. And that's really common. And I just want everybody to think about, like, is it worth more to potentially save one life or to, like, upset your mother-in-law? It might feel scary, but when you think about the gravity it could have, it means a lot to just say that you're one of these people. And it creates a safe place. So two years from now, when somebody you know needs to talk to somebody, they'll remember that you said that.

Dani:

Mm-hmm.

Emily:

And frankly, what does it say about someone who would be upset at any of us going online and going, you know what, after my baby was born, like, I wasn't okay? What part of that is an attack on anyone else?

Dani:

I'm just reflecting on like interviews with some of our guests and sometimes it's like you know a cultural thing like there's some stigma.

Emily:

Absolutely.

Dani:

How somebody sharing openly may affect their family so I'll also say like we recognize that it's not for everybody, it's not as easy as going, I'm just going to share my story online. Which brings me to my next question, Katie, because there are probably many ways that people can get involved and you can choose a way that feels the most comfortable for you. So can you tell us a little bit more? How can people get involved, whether somebody is a parent sharing their story, somebody who wants to share, you're an ally that's wanting to show up, you're a provider that wants to do better to provide for your patients. Tell us, how can people get involved?

Katie:

Sure. So the most visible and simple way probably is to engage with everything we're going to be doing on social. We will be using a connect the dots hashtag, but also if you just are on the PSI social media, you'll see a lot of conversation about it and many different ways that we're going to invite you to get involved. And they will be everything from low lift to bigger commitments. It's just kind of like how much you want to get involved. But also, if you just want to open up to two friends and not put it on the Internet, that is also very valuable. So really, we just want you to talk about it with people that are close to you at minimum. And if you are comfortable sharing publicly, you can share as much or as little as you want. And there are times that I have shared a slide that just said I'm one in five and explained a little bit. And there are times that I have detailed out my intrusive thoughts. Like, it's just kind of up to you. It is scary at first, but I will say that it feels really good after you have done it. It kind of like takes the power away from the intrigue or whatever you have perceived other people to feel like, like if they're judging you or whatever. And the deal is the reason there is stigma is because we've been so quiet about it for so many decades.

Emily:

Yep.

Dani:

Yeah.

Katie:

Talking about it isn't going to probably change the stigma in your mother-in-law's mind. But for your daughters or your sons, they could have a different sort of environment when they are at the age of starting families and things like that. So I think it's important either way to just keep having the conversation so that the stigma goes away.

Emily:

Yeah. If you're the first of your friends to have kids, like I was, right? Like you say something and then, you know, a couple of years later, I'm like getting DMs from friends who've like had their first kid. And they're like, so tell me more about like that time you weren't OK. And I'm like, I've got you. Here's a website. Here's a phone number. Talk to PSI.

Katie:

So true.

Dani:

Is there a media kit that we can put a link in the show notes to? Like if people are interested in participating, like are there templates and things like that in there? OK, we got you covered, everybody who's listening. We'll put a link in the show notes to all the, you know, anything related to Maternal Mental Health Month that we talked about today. Emily, I think that there's another question.

Emily:

Okay, so we get to the end of Maternal Mental Health Month and we're ready to celebrate success. What does success look like? Like what's a job well done?

Katie:

Well, again, I think like even one life saved or impacted is worth everything. If one more person calls the helpline that didn't know about it, that feels like it's worth everything. And then obviously, like as many impressions and as much engagement as we can get online, you know, in 2026, the algorithm wants that to show it to more people. So, you know, part of our job in the marketing and brand department is to make sure people are getting to see it. So and we depend a lot on our audience for that. So we really want everybody to connect their own dots and connect to each other's dots and make this a huge network of awareness by the end of May. But anything that helps even one family, would obviously be worth the effort.

Dani:

Yeah. So like, would you like to connect the dots with us, everybody?

Emily:

Like and subscribe or whatever they say now.

Dani:

Yeah. Katie, this was such a lovely opportunity to check in with you because we always love talking to you. And also especially talk about Maternal Mental Health Month. Is there anything that we didn't ask that you would like to mention before we say goodbye?

Katie:

Not really. Just that the toolkit will definitely be available and will be more robust than it has been in the past. So we'll have even like some prompts on how to even tell your story. And just like if you're brand new to even thinking about this stuff, there should be everything you could possibly need in the toolkit to tell your story even to yourself at first. And then how to present it and options and how to do that safely and resources for if that brings up feelings, because it might.

Emily:

Yeah.

Katie:

We highly encourage you to check that out. And it'll be on our website as soon as May starts.

Dani:

That is amazing. Cool. Well, with that, Emily, would you like to take us out?

Emily:

Why, yes. I love talking to you, Katie. And I love talking about connecting the dots because I think that being able to introduce two people who don't realize that they have shared experience in common or a help seeker to the help that they need is such an important connection to make. And so I can't wait to do more of that in May.

Dani:

Thanks for being here, Katie.

Katie:

Thanks for having me, guys. Maybe we can recap afterwards and talk about it.

Dani:

Oh, let's do it. Okay. Stay tuned, everybody. Thanks for tuning in to the I Am One podcast. Check out today's show notes where we'll drop links to all the important things that we mentioned in this episode please consider sharing about I Am One on social media and following and rating our show wherever it is that you listen to podcasts it only takes a minute of your time and, well, that'll help our collective mission of bringing resources and local support to folks worldwide. From everyone here at PSI, thanks again for listening.

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Dani Giddens (she/her)

Host
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Emily Jankowski (she/her)

Co-host