AWARENESS MONTH
National Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Month: PTSD national awareness month spreads awareness of the condition and finding help. According to Postpartum Support International, around 9% of women have experienced postpartum PTSD after childbirth. A diagnosis that not only affects women but many new parents, partners, and caregivers. June 27th Post-traumatic Stress disorder awareness day; to learn more about postpartum PTSD, click here.
National Pride Month: Family structures are diverse. A large gap in LGBTQ+ health for family planning exists today. According to the fact sheet compiled from the Family Planning Building Survey at Family Equality Council, "3.8 million LGBTQ Millennials are considering expanding their families in the coming years, and 2.9 million are actively planning to do so." Please read our blog on Resources and Inclusive Language for Family Planning and Family Building; this also includes resources for birth workers. If you need further resources regarding Queer Parents Support Group and LGBTQIA+ coordinator, click here for a Postpartum Support International resource.
AWARENESS DAYS
June 6th is International Homebirth Day: In the article Trends and State Variations in Out-of-Hospital Births in the United States, they noted that in 2017, "1 of every 62 births in the US was an out-of-hospital birth (1.61%)"
( MacDorman, Declercq). According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, around 35,000 births per year are at-home in the United States. In the history of the US, the Hektoen Internation Journal of Medical Humanities states that home-births were the most common up until the 20th century in the US by female midwives and numerous female family and friends. Thank you to all our midwives and our CCCN members who are part of this history! Click here to visit our local midwife directory.
June 21st is Father's Day: We acknowledge and respect that family structures are diverse. For anyone who identifies as a father, dad, partner, or caregiver, we know you are affected by parenting struggles too. As Father's day gets closer, we must acknowledge that "one in ten dads experience postpartum depression, and up to 18% develop a clinically significant anxiety disorder," as reported by the Postpartum Support International. All parents need support. Click here for more resources provided by the Postpartum Support International for dads and parents. For birth workers: click here to support an inclusive and affirming Father's Day with the Father's Day Resource kit by Glaad. Alternatively, you can Celebrate Parents' Day or Family Day rather than Mother's Day or Father's Day. Celebrate all parents on the fourth Sunday in July!
Do you know of any other important Awareness days or months for June? Please share in the comments.
Sources:
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Authored in collaboration with:
Bernice Nuñez, CCCN Summer 2021 Intern