CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tiffany Bishop is one of the founders of Raising Resilience in Charlotte.
"Black Maternal Mental health means to find solutions and ways to address the disproportionate rate of maternal mortality and mental health complications that come along with childbirth and pregnancy,” Bishop said.
The organization aims to help women as they transition through pregnancy and the postpartum period.
“Black women are three to four times more likely to die giving birth than their white counterparts,” Bishop said.
The organization started in 2018. Today, it helps hundreds of women get free access to mental health care for free.
"We see women anywhere from 18 all the ay up to women that are in their 50s 60s when we think about our niche we really think about millennial woman age black women,” Raising Resilience Co-Founder Whitney Coble Said.
Helping women understand and get through PMAS is another priority for Raising Resilience. PMAS stands for Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders.
"One and three women will experience Perinatal Mood or Anxiety Disorder,” Bishop said.
Research shows PMAS is the number one complication for childbirth just one reason Brittney Smith got involved with the organization.
"When I was leaving the hospital I was terrified to go home with her,” Brittney Smith said. "The moment we got in the car it started the tears I was crying every day I had a lot of anxiety I was always thinking that something was going to happen to her."
Other symptoms of PMAS include panic attacks, difficulty concentrating and depression.
Smith said it wasn't until she joined Raising Resilience that she felt more at ease.
"The best part was they equip me with the tools to identify that it wasn't depression I had postpartum OCD,” Smith said.
Raising Resilience wants to help more women like Brittney.
Founders say the app called “Momsense” will pair moms with events going on in Charlotte for families and get direct access to doctors and pediatricians that are not always readily available.
"And what will come with that is that the providers on that director will be able to fill out information to say that hey this provider is safe they provide quality care for women and color so women can have power and choice with their health care,” Coble said.
To help Raising Resilience reach $100,000 visit https://www.weareraisingresilience.org/
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