The public health issues topic I chose was postpartum depression. I choose this topic because I am a psychology major and my research interests include the development of psychopathology among adolescents and adults. This topic is relevant to public health because there has been an increase in postpartum depression among mothers. While there is an increase in postpartum depression it also creates a gap for these mothers to seek treatment and help. There is a stigma about postpartum depression which creates a barrier for women to seek help from their friends and family because they don’t want to look weak. According to the lecture titled Intro to PH Basic Concepts and Principles, it was mentioned that the general purpose of public health is to assure the quality and accessibility of services and prevent injuries. The most common injury among postpartum mothers is suicide. According to the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health (2020), 20% of maternal deaths are from suicide. There needs to be more awareness and access to resources for these mothers who are experiencing postpartum depression. The individuals impacted by this public health issue are newborn mothers and families. This impacts mothers because there is not much awareness regarding postpartum depression and as I mentioned before there is a stigma. It also impacts families because significant others have a hard time understanding why a mother is sad when their child is born. According to the American Journal of Obstetrics Gynecology among the population of newborn mothers, the postpartum depression rate is 13.9%. There has been a dramatic increase which was only 9.4% in 2010 and increased to 19.3% in 2021. Prevalence increased from 9.4% in 2010 to 19.3% in 2021 (a relative increase of 105%, p < 0.001). Postpartum depression is also more prevalent among some races and not others but with a consistently increasing prevalence among all races. Pacific islanders had a 280% increase from 2010 to 2021. There are health disparities that exist according to Kozhimannil et al. lower income mothers seek less treatment especially Latino and black folks (2011). There are many different parties that understand this issue in different ways. For example, insurance companies could increase the rates of mothers who are expecting and are at risk of developing postpartum depression. This is costing more money for the insurance companies so they need to reanalyze cost interaction with price in the business model. Cultural groups who are at an increased risk of developing postpartum may create support groups, informational groups, and other resources to help reduce the risk among people from similar backgrounds. Awareness is also key among groups because some cultures have a stigma against depression and receiving help during times like these. The government could provide more resources for mothers or individuals at risk of developing postpartum depression. Labor and delivery hospitals could provide more information and support regarding postpartum depression and signs and symptoms to be aware of. As a whole system, we can all do our part in spreading awareness about postpartum depression to decrease the rates of undiagnosed and suicidal postpartum depression. What’s your response to this?