Thriving Families
Organization Details
The mission of Thriving Families is to empower women and their families to thrive. Thriving Families vision is to contribute to the community by being 1) known as an essential part of perinatal care, 2) widely accessible to pregnant and parenting teens and pregnant women and mothers of newborns, 3) recognized as a provider of proven, evidence-based programs and services for families with young children, and 4) particularly supportive of mothers who are BIPOC and/or recent Spanish-speaking immigrants and refugees.
Impact Story
Low-income women and birthing people are at particularly high-risk for experiencing adverse mental health and stress during pregnancy. Social isolation is common among women during the perinatal period, when having a network of support is critical. Suicide and overdose are leading causes of maternal mortality, which are two mental health problems that can be treated.
Thriving Families addresses the significant gaps in mental health services people face during pregnancy and postpartum with three effective programs: MotherWise, WiseWellness, and La Luz. MotherWise is a 6-week program on healthy relationships and enrolls 450-500 women and birthing people annually. It has been shown in a large randomized controlled trial to significantly improve depression, particularly among those who identify as Black or African American (Allen, Rhoades & Mazzoni, in press). In that study, 15% those assigned to the MotherWise program screened positive for depression compared to 39% in the no-treatment control group. Additionally, the program reduces preterm birth, increases postpartum contraceptive use and reduces unintended pregnancy, and improves relationships even long-term, measured 2.5 years after enrollment (Patnaik et al., 2022, Rhoades et al., 2023, Mazzoni et al., in press). WiseWellness is our trauma-informed and evidence-based counseling and therapy program. Unlimited weekly appointments are offered and participants start with a clinician typically within one week of referral from their Family Support Coordinator. WiseWellness uses evidence-based therapy approaches and sees about 150 clients per year. La Luz is an evidence-based postpartum depression prevention group (using the ROSE curriculum) offered every month, alternating two months in English with one month in Spanish. La Luz serves about 150 clients per year.
