pneumonia. It was a very hard and trying time. Scared, I didn't know anything, and then

I found out when he was 9 months, that I was 5 months pregnant with his brother. I was

not aware consciously that I was suffering from depression. It made the simplest things

very hard, nearly impossible to do. [Sheree Toth] We have extensive research that shows

that when moms have a baby that they're certainly at significantly increased risk

of depression. And when you're looking at moms who have multiple stressors in their

lives, including living in poverty, living in neighborhoods with high crime, about 1

in 4 women experience major depressive disorders. [Harris-George] After dealing with a sick

child and having another child unexpectedly, it was hard, and that's when I got introduced

to the program. [Margaret Figueroa] I worked with Laquanda for about a year. The IPT program

is a home visiting model, so I would go out to her home on a weekly basis. The majority

of the focus is on what's currently happening, right now, and what is contributing to their

mood, whether it's events, situations, relationships they might be in. [Toth] Unfortunately there's

a significant stigma still associated with seeking help for a mental illness and I think

it's even worse in minority populations. There's somewhat of a sense of, "we should

be able to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps", and, "we really don't need any extra help".

[Harris-George] Something's going on, but you can't quite put your finger on it. Until

I was presented with the information it was something that I never really heard, or was

aware I was going through, but it helped me pinpoint what was the trigger that caused

it and ways to treat it. [Toth] It's so important as a field that we continue to expand

our efforts to look at whether these interventions can be effective with lower-income, more diverse

populations, and I think this is a really important step in that direction. [Harris-George]

While I was in the program, I got pregnant with my last son. I was at a better place

to be able to receive him. Margaret helped me to keep my head above water, to keep level-headed.

[Figueroa] Laquanda was a bit more unique in that she had the family support, she's

married and parenting her 3 children along with her husband. While she had that good

support, she was also struggling with the depressive symptoms that were creeping up

on that day-to-day basis for her. [Harris-George] I didn't see my child as a burden, so much,

but I saw him as a priority. She worked with me to help me see that it was OK for me to

set goals and say, "I can still do something with my life". [Figueroa] Well it feels

good to see her succeed and attain some of those goals that she had set for herself,

a long time ago, before she had children. [Harris-George] I've always said I want

to be in the medical field, and I am going to school now to be a dental hygienist. I'm

very happy. It's been a long time coming.