Nancy with the Smiling Face

by Emily Raij

Few of us have been spared from feelings of isolation during the past few months of quarantine and caution, and for families with newborn babies – who must be especially careful – the loneliness can be even more profound. For women suffering from postpartum depression and other mental-health issues, the challenge is greater still.

Fortunately, families in Orange, Seminole, and surrounding counties can now turn to the Central Florida Postpartum Alliance for support, and at its helm is a familiar face in the Central Florida Jewish community. 

This newly established nonprofit organization collaborates with Postpartum Support International (PSI) and strives to raise awareness of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADS) and provide support, resources, and treatment referrals for affected families. These PMADS disorders include postpartum depression, anxiety, perinatal PTSD, perinatal obsessive compulsive disorders, postpartum psychosis, and birth trauma. The Alliance was cofounded by Nancy Layish, a licensed clinical social worker and former Roth Family JCC teacher. Nancy received her formal certification in perinatal mental health in May but has been working to help mothers and families for years. It is a mission close to her heart.

Nancy, who moved to Orlando in 1997 and whose three grown sons attended preschool at the JCC’s Early Childhood Learning Center (ECLC), experienced postpartum depression after the birth of one of her children. At the time, she and her family lived in St. Louis, and although she was able to find help there, she recognized that support was not readily available to all families.

“I was lucky there were resources in my community,” Nancy remembers. “One of the most pivotal was a support group. I vowed to help others and pay it forward.”

To begin that mission, Nancy became a volunteer for PSI in Central Florida. She provided emotional support to women and referrals to local mental healthcare providers, some of whom are now members of the Central Florida Postpartum Alliance. But Nancy saw the need for even stronger local cooperation.

“In terms of a collaborative effort in this region, the Central Florida Postpartum Alliance is the first,” says Nancy.

That collaboration started to take shape in 2016 when Nancy had a somewhat auspicious encounter while traveling to San Diego for a PSI conference. She ended up sitting next to another social worker on the plane who was also flying to the conference, and the two connected afterward to discuss the idea of a new nonprofit.

In 2018, Nancy decided to focus completely on developing this much-needed local resource to serve the perinatal mental-health needs of women and families in Central Florida. She hired a colleague in Gainesville who helped navigate the process of applying for 501(c)(3) status for the Alliance, which was a work group at the time. Nancy and a few other colleagues became the core seven-member board for the organization, which has now grown to more than 30 members and officially became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in January of this year – no easy feat.

The effort is well worth it, Nancy explains, as one in seven mothers experiences postpartum depression.

“One silver lining of COVID is that it is bringing out the pervasiveness of mental-health issues,” says Nancy. “It’s diffusing the stigma. But within that, there is perinatal mental health, which is still stigmatized. I have struggled with it. This is what inspired me to do what I do. Others I work with experienced it personally or through family. I had to do something.”

Specifically, Nancy handles outreach and education, with other branches of the organization focusing on treatment and advocacy.

“Advocacy equals teaching what perinatal mood and anxiety disorders are – educating moms and families,” says Nancy. “As PSI’s message says, you are not alone, you are not to blame, and with help, you can get better.”

The Alliance also educates providers – including doulas, midwives, nurse practitioners, counselors, therapists, and doctors – all of whom are likely to encounter patients or clients with these disorders. At quarterly Brunch ‘n Learns, which have moved from in-person gatherings to online for now, Alliance members (e.g., a counselor at Jewish Family Services) conduct presentations for providers on topics like PMADS or grief and loss. Providers are taught the signs to look for, how to best advocate for patients, and what resources are available. All of this work aims to educate families and practitioners, spread the word, and provide help while removing the shame that some women feel.

“The depression could include many things, but for perinatal health, if you’re experiencing postpartum depression, and it’s blown off or not addressed, it could cause more harm,” says Nancy. “It’s not the same as baby blues, which is very transient and lasts three days to two weeks. You have the ups and downs of motherhood and are tired but still joyful. With postpartum depression, you continue to feel down, are spiraling, or have other risk factors. Those are red flags.”

To further aid counselors and therapists, Nancy also started study groups for those preparing for the Perinatal Mental Health Certification Exam. Additionally, the Alliance has partnered with The Roth Family JCC on diaper drives to benefit local diaper banks, which have seen the demand for diapers increase significantly during the pandemic.

“Things are still, pun intended, in their infancy,” says Nancy.But the Central Florida Postpartum Alliance has found a way to grow.