MENTAL HEALTH CARE FOR WOMEN IN COLORADO
You matter, asking for help is a sign of strength
Perinatal and Women’s Mental Health
Ali is extremely passionate about mental health and women’s health! She specialized her Master of Public Health in these areas. She has even been an egg donor three times! This inspired Ali to obtain additional certifications such as her PMH-C and perinatal trainings to help integrate these passions.
Ali feels confident providing medication management for:
Adjustment Disorder
Infertility
Trying to conceive
Motherhood/parenthood transition
Pregnancy/infant loss
Sensitivity to Hormone Adjustments
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD)
Premenstrual Exacerbation (PME)
Peri/menopause
PMHDs (Perinatal Mental Health Disorders)
Perinatal / Postpartum Anxiety
Perinatal / Postpartum Depression
Perinatal / Postpartum Mood Disorders (Bipolar ll)
Perinatal / Postpartum OCD
Perinatal / Postpartum PTSD / Trauma
Myths:
“Getting and staying pregnant is easy”
Infertility and pregnancy loss are both very common
“There’s only one right way to give birth”
Birthing doesn’t always go as planned and can create situations we don’t have control over
“Being a parent is instinctual”
There’s no “right” way to parent and you will learn along the way
“Good parents don’t have time to take care of themselves or take breaks” or “I don’t need help I got this”
Taking care of yourself IS taking care of others - you can’t pour from an empty cup and there’s meaning to the saying it takes a village
“Breastfeeding will be easy and natural”
Many struggle with breastfeeding, there’s a reason we have a whole specialty dedicated to breastfeeding - thank you lactation consultants
“It’s unsafe to be on medication while pregnant'“ or “strong people don’t need medication”
Nothing goes without risk, but of the available data majority of psych medications in pregnancy have low absolute risk and there are risks of leaving mental health conditions untreated - consult your PMH-C provider
Facts:
1 in 5 women of reproductive age struggle with infertilty, 1 out of 4 pregnancies are lost - 80% of which are in the first trimester and 2/3 of miscarriages have no symptoms
1 in 5 women and 1 in 10 men experience a PMHD
Postpartum depression is the most common, yet most under diagnosed OB complication and 50% of women with postpartum depression don’t get treatment
1 in 7 women of reproductive age take a SSRI and symptom relapse is 5x higher in those who stop their SSRI due to pregnancy
Women with bipolar l who stop their mood stabilizer during pregnancy have 2x the risk of recurrence of symptoms and 4x more rapidly than woman who stay on medication
About 90% of pregnant women are taking a prescribed or over the counter medication
Sleep is ESSENTIAL to protect against developing a PMHD
Obsessive thoughts of harm coming to the baby are very common, you are not alone
“I have loved working with Empowerment! I came in for pre-natal care and am so glad I did. Ali is well-researched, informed, and understanding. There is already so much going on if you are struggling to get pregnant and keeping your mental health in check is of the utmost importance. Honestly, not sure I could have done it without the guidance and support of Ali.”
“Ali has been such a pivotal part of my mental health journey during pregnancy and beyond. She is thoughtful and took time to listen and explain options that best fit my situation and needs. She’s evidence based and thoroughly explained all pros and cons to help make a collaborative decision on medication. I feel very supported and confident in the healthcare she provides and could not recommend her highly enough!”
