Marvelous Little Things

Left untreated, perinatal mood and anxiety disorders can lead to long-term depression in the mother, a lack of emotional availability for the baby and detrimental outcomes in the development of the fetus, newborn and developing child.  At Marvelous Little Things, we aim to offer a safe place for mothers from our city's minority communities who often come from disadvantaged communities, a place to identify and mitigate the effects of isolation. The following is a list of additional impacts:

ON MOTHER 

• Increased risk of substance abuse

• Increased risk of smoking

• Decreased likelihood of attending prenatal visits

• Chronic depression and/or anxiety

• Increased complications of pregnancy

 

ON PARENTING

• Increase in child abuse and neglect

• Less likely to play, talk, read with infant

• Less likely to follow routines and safety practices

• Decreased duration of breastfeeding

• Less likely to follow up on pediatric recommendations

 

ON FETUS AND INFANT

• Increased likelihood of low birth weight and preterm birth

• Poor attachment to mother or primary caregiver

• Increased dysregulation, irritability, crying, hypervigilance, low activity or tone

• Increased level of stress hormones, including cortisol

 

ON DEVELOPING CHILD

• Cognitive, emotional and developmental delays

• Learning difficulties o Later walking, talking and other developmental milestones

• Increased risk for developing anxiety or depression at young age

• Increased aggression

• Difficulty making and keeping friends

 

ON PARTNER AND FAMILY

• Increased feelings of helplessness and depression in partners

• Older children impacted

• Grief and feelings of loss and confusion in family

• Divorce, marital conflict

 

ON INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION

• Trauma of having a mother with untreated perinatal depression is often passed down from one generation to the next

 

Those are just some of the reasons why we offer an opportunity for our participants who are bold enough to see that the pattern needs to be broken. By offering them a safe place free from judgment and ridicule and far removed from the communities that often reinforce and maintain the isolation and influences that negatively impact their lives.