WHAT WE DO

We offer groups for women experiencing anxiety and/or depression during pregnancy.

BBB’s group model is all about bringing together women who are experiencing symptoms of perinatal depression and/or anxiety. Because our groups are closed—no one joins after the first week—members can develop trust in one another and in the group facilitators.

Our goal is to create a safe and caring space that allows participants to connect with each other and regain their sense of well being.

UPCOMING GROUPS

All BBB groups are currently taking place over Zoom. New groups start regularly and occur once a week for 6 weeks.

Call 847.864.7957 or email us at
info@beyondthebabyblues.org now for more information.

Loss Support Groups

BBB offers FREE, 6-week, dedicated support groups for women who have experienced a miscarriage, stillbirth, or death of a newborn.

All groups are currently conducted over Zoom.

Click here to learn more.

As with our other groups, we accept inquiries and referrals from perinatal, mental, and medical health professionals and from women themselves.

Please Support Our Work

If you think that providing free groups for women who are struggling emotionally during their pregnancy, after they give birth, or after a loss is important, please support BBB with a donation.

Gifts of any amount are most welcome and are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Thank you!

A Message of Solidarity

Beyond the Baby Blues stands with and supports the efforts of Black Lives Matter to address systemic racism in the U.S. We stand in solidarity with our community members in opposition to racial injustice.

We at BBB are passionately devoted to our work in caring for women’s emotional health as they navigate pregnancy, childbirth, motherhood, and loss. 

We are also acutely aware that too often—for women of color and, in particular, for Black women—these journeys are made immeasurably more challenging by systemic racism in our healthcare system (including mental healthcare) and in our society at large. These inequities have led to a maternal mortality rate that is 2.5 to 5.2 times higher for Black women than for white women. 

 But being aware is not enough. We are taking this opportunity to reflect, learn, and commit ourselves to action. While we have taken some steps already to expand access to underserved groups, such as always offering groups at no cost to mothers, and, in the wake of COVID-19, offering groups through Zoom so location is no longer a barrier, we are exploring ways to expand these efforts, and add to them. More to come.

News and Resources

New! Support group for spanish speaking women

BBB is excited to announce a pilot support group for Spanish speaking women launching this May!

Please forward inquiries and referrals to Sinane Goulet, LCSW, I/ECMH at 773-742-6824 or gsinane@gmail.com

Click here for a group flyer in Spanish.

PERSON & PLANET PODCAST FEATURING BBB

Listen to our Clinical Director, Nancy Segall, describe the importance of support during the Prenatal and Postnatal period with Purevant Living’s Stephanie Krubsack on the Person & Planet Podcast.

she matters

She Matters is a digital health platform designed to provide Black mamas who experience postpartum anxiety and/ or depression with community, culturally relevant resources and culturally competent therapists.

Protecting your birth: A guide for black mothers

Implicit bias, or a subconscious negative attitude toward a certain group, is a major problem affecting Black mothers and their babies. Erica Chidi, a doula, and Erica P. Cahill, M.D., an Ob-Gyn, partnered with NYT Parenting to create “Protecting Your Birth: A Guide For Black Mothers.”

While the guide has excellent information for Black mothers, it also includes tips for doctors, midwives and other providers to help them challenge their own bias and give Black women more informed, better care. The pair also created a list of antiracist prenatal and postnatal care preferences to share with medical providers in order to “lessen the burden and build the groundwork for Black women around these difficult conversations.”

Postpartum Depression: Symptoms and Support

Listen to a discussion from Two Pink Lines podcast featuring Nancy Segall, BBB’s clinical director, and Dr. Jo Kim, the Director of the Perinatal Depression Program at NorthShore University HealthSystem.