http://www.maternalmentalhealthnow.org/

Maternal Mental Health Now, 1000 N Alameda Street, Los Angeles, CA (2026)

08/05/2026

Meet Nicole Blaine (she/her)

We believe healing takes many forms — and yes, laughter is one of them.

Nicole Blaine is a stand-up comic who has graced the stages of NBC’s Today Show, E!’s That Morning Show, San Francisco Sketchfest, Boston’s Women in Comedy Festival, and more. She’s also the Executive Producer and Festival Director of The Showdown at the Westside Comedy Theater, head comedy writer for RealMomDaily.com, and co-executive producer of the HBO comedy special Burning the Light.

She lives in Santa Monica with her husband and two kids. In her words — they all suck, so she has great material.

We are beyond thrilled to have Nicole bring her voice, her perspective, and her craft to the Whose Evidence? Conference this October. Because sometimes the most powerful thing in a room full of clinicians, advocates, and community leaders is someone who can make them laugh. ✨

📅 October 19–20, 2026 | The California Endowment, LA
⏳ Early Bird pricing ends August 15

Swipe through to learn more and register now at the link in bio.

07/31/2026

What is peer support, exactly? It’s connection with people who truly understand, not just from a clinical perspective, but from lived experience. When you’re in Sana Sana, you’re sitting with people who have felt the weight of anxiety during pregnancy, the identity shift of becoming a parent, the complexity of postpartum emotions, or the heartbreak of loss. They’ve been there. And they’re here to hold space with you.

Sana Sana welcomes anyone in the perinatal journey:
• If you’re pregnant and feeling anxious or unsure
• If you’re postpartum and struggling
• If you’ve experienced miscarriage or loss
• If you’re navigating fertility challenges
• If you’re just looking for honest conversation and genuine support

The group is confidential, judgment-free, and you can participate at your own pace. Show up when you can. Share when you’re ready.

Your experience is valid. Your mental health matters. And you deserve to find people who get it.

Join Sana Sana. Link in bio to register.

07/29/2026

Meet Durga Abbas (she/her)

Durga brings something to perinatal mental health that’s hard to put into a single title — and she holds several.

As MMHN’s Wellness Coordinator, Founder of Shifa Somatics + Apothecary, Certified Peer Supporter, Trauma-Informed Yoga & Somatics Teacher, artist, and Herbalist, Durga’s work lives at the intersection of clinical support, cultural wisdom, and decolonized healing.

A Q***r Mama of Lebanese, Choctaw, and Irish ancestry, her lineage and lived experience aren’t separate from her practice — they are the practice. She is passionate about supporting birthing folks in ways that are culturally immersive, holistic, and deeply respectful of land and humanity — beyond the yoga mat and into real community.

We are so honored to have Durga’s voice at the Whose Evidence? Conference this October. ✨

📅 October 19–20, 2026 | The California Endowment, LA
⏳ Early Bird pricing ends August 15

Swipe through to learn more — and register now at the link in bio. 🔗

***rMama

07/25/2026

Your story + your voice = systems change.

Storytelling for Systems Change
A statewide advocacy training
Wednesday 8/5 | 11 AM–12 PM PT

Learn how to harness your lived experience to influence policy, speak with confidence, and help advance perinatal mental health through SB 626.

Whether you’re a parent, provider, advocate, or community partner — your voice matters in shaping California’s future.
Ready to turn your story into action?

👉 REGISTER: bit.ly/4w7i3au (link in bio)

07/23/2026

Meet Helena Vissing, PsyD (she/her)

What happens in the body during pregnancy, birth, and early motherhood, and what does it mean for healing?

Helena Vissing has built her career around that question.
A licensed psychologist certified in Perinatal Mental Health and Associate Professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies, Helena is a scholar of maternal studies and somatic psychology whose work explores the deeply interconnected relationship between mind, body, and motherhood.

She is the author of Somatic Maternal Healing: Psychodynamic and Somatic Trauma Treatment for Perinatal Mental Health — a clinical and academic resource reframing how we approach trauma treatment in the perinatal period. And she brings that same depth to her podcast hosting on New Books in Psychoanalysis and New Books in Somatics, and her editorial work with the International Body Psychotherapy Journal.

This October, Helena is bringing all of that to the Whose Evidence? Conference — and we are honored to have her on our stage. ✨

📅 October 19–20, 2026 | The California Endowment, LA

⏳ Early Bird pricing ends August 15

Swipe through to learn more and register now at the link in bio.

07/21/2026

Black Maternal Mental Health Week is here (July 18–25). A full week of screenings, trainings, data, and community for Black birthing people and the providers who serve them.

🎬 “BEHIND THE JOY” FILM SCREENING
July 18 • 7:00 PM • Atlanta, In Person
A film about postpartum depression. Directed by Jamal Smart, starring Kakra Nunoo Brown and Bobby Giddings III. Cinevision Corporation, 3300 Northeast Expressway, Atlanta, GA 30341.

📊 COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT DATA SHARE
July 21 • 12:00 PM PST • Virtual
Dr. Jaih Craddock walks through the findings from our perinatal mental health needs assessment—the access gaps, screening gaps, and what Black birthing people actually told us they needed. This is the data behind the disparities you’re seeing in practice. By invitation for providers & funders.

🧠 EMDR & PERINATAL MENTAL HEALTH
July 22 • 10:00 AM PST • Virtual
$25 • APA-approved CE credit
Dr. Chyna Hill explains how EMDR works for perinatal trauma and when patients are ready. Learn a grounding technique you can teach that same day. 150+ providers attend every session.

💬 IT STARTS EARLIER THAN YOU THINK
July 23 • 1:00 PM PST • Virtual
$25 • APA-approved CE credit
Breea Wainwright on prenatal predictors of postpartum mental health. Learn screening language that builds trust, not shame.

🎤 BLACK MATERNAL MENTAL HEALTH SUMMIT
July 23 • 12:45–1:30 PM CST • Houston, TX • In Person
Dr. Jaih Craddock & Dr. Chyna Hill share findings live. Data, art, storytelling. Worth the trip.

👯 MAMA’S MOMENT
July 25 • 10:00–11:00 AM PST • Zoom • FREE
For mamas, birthing people & caregivers. Space to be heard, not fixed. Giveaways: $1,000 cash, Doona stroller, Momcozy pump.

All links in bio🤍

07/20/2026

Meet Meredith Smalls (she/her)

What does anthropology have to do with perinatal mental health?
Everything… if you ask Meredith Smalls.

As a trained anthropologist, prolific author, and seasoned speaker, Meredith has spent her career exploring how biology and culture shape human behavior — and what that means for families navigating pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood.

Her landmark book Our Babies, Ourselves invites readers to examine the cultural assumptions we carry into parenthood and the communities that shape how we raise our children.

It’s the kind of work that makes you see families, and the care systems that serve them, completely differently.

This October, she’s bringing that perspective to the Whose Evidence? Conference, and we can’t wait. 🙌

📅 October 19–20, 2026 | The California Endowment, LA

⏳ Early Bird pricing ends August 15

Swipe through to learn more. Register now at the link in bio.

07/18/2026

Meet David S. Washington, LCSW (he/him/his)

What does healing look like when it starts with your hands in the soil?

David has been answering that question for over 15 years — as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Certified Master Gardener, Certified Therapeutic Horticulture practitioner, and Founder of The Planted Brain, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to making mental health care accessible to historically marginalized and under-resourced communities.

His work weaves trauma-informed clinical practice with nature-based interventions, therapeutic horticulture workshops, support groups, and community programs all grounded in the belief that healing and nature grow best together.

This October, David is bringing that vision to the Whose Evidence? Conference — and we couldn’t be more excited to have him. 🙌

📅 October 19–20, 2026 | The California Endowment, LA

⏳ Early Bird pricing ends August 15.

Swipe through to learn more and register now at the link in bio.

ThePlantedBrain

07/17/2026

We’re still buzzing from the Postpartum Support International conference last month 💫

Our team Alex, Durga & Kimberly facilitated two transformative workshops: one on integrating somatic micro-skills into perinatal peer support for q***r & trans parents, and another centering the crucial work of supporting Black birthworkers in perinatal mental health.

Beyond the workshops, we tabled to share details about the trainings we offer to our community, and honestly? The best part was the connections meeting perinatal mental health advocates doing this work all over the country. We left with new relationships, new ideas, and a renewed sense of why this work matters so deeply.

This is how we move the needle together. When we show up for each other, when we center the voices and experiences of those most impacted by perinatal mental health inequities, that’s when real change happens.

Want to stay connected to everything we’re building? Sign up for our email newsletter for updates on our events, trainings, resources & ways to get involved. Link in bio

07/16/2026

Meet Alex Villalba (they/them) ✨

Full-spectrum birthworker. Prison doula. Gender transition doula. Lactation specialist. Domestic violence counselor. Senior Manager of Community Programs at MMHN.

Alex doesn’t just work in perinatal mental health, they’re reshaping what it looks like for q***r and trans families through trauma-informed, culturally responsive, community-centered care.

They’ll be at the Whose Evidence? Conference this October, bringing somatic practices, decolonial healing frameworks, and real community wisdom to the conversation.

📅 Oct 19–20 | The California Endowment, LA

🎟️ Early Bird ends Aug 15.

Register at the link in bio

***rParents

Maternal Mental Health Now

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