Dakota County Newsletter - Spring/Summer 2025 - A Healthy Start

A healthy start

Mothers and Babies program helps new parents manage stress and emotional challenges

Being pregnant and having a baby is very exciting — and it can be very challenging for parents.

Those challenges aren’t limited to learning sleep and feeding schedules. Preparing for a newborn and caring for an infant can be hard on a parent's mental health and emotions.

Parents might wonder if they’re doing a good job. They worry about their baby’s health or their own. They can get exhausted from new expectations.

Often, stress is short-lived and parents can manage it. But, sometimes it leads to anxiety and depression. That can affect how they bond with their baby, feel about themselves and manage relationships.

Dakota County’s Mothers and Babies program works with pregnant and new parents to learn ways to manage stress and emotional challenges.

One in 5 women experience depression after childbirth. Also, 1 in 9 partners experience depression and anxiety as new parents. Trained public health staff share skills with new mothers to help them as well as their partners, who may not get help on their own.

Mothers and Babies works in the county’s family home visiting program. It is available to all new parents who would like support to improve their mental well-being.

Parents start with a mental health screening to identify how they feel and what challenges they face. During the program, they will talk with public health staff about parenting situations and learn and practice tools to manage stress. They also learn about child development and ways to promote healthy physical, social and emotional development.

We'll also talk with parents about how adult relationships and roles might change with a baby and how to be comfortable asking for help and support. Mothers and Babies is not therapy, but it teaches tools that can help improve mental health.

The program has already served at least 49 families in Dakota County. It has reduced depression and anxiety levels by an average of 30 percent, according to screening done before and after the program.

Other Minnesota counties offer similar programs for new parents. Dakota County takes it a step further by having bilingual staff visit Spanish-speaking families. We also connect families to other community resources. If parents speak a language other than English or Spanish, we provide an interpreter.

Learning these skills is important for parents. If they are aware of their own feelings and how to handle them, they can better respond to their child’s needs. A healthy parent is a healthy child.

For more information, visit www.dakotacounty.us, search mothers and babies.

1 in 5 Women experience depression after childbirth

1 in 9 Partners experience depression and anxiety as new parents 49 Dakota County families already served by program

30% Reduction in parent depression and anxiety following program