We’re Kayla Z, Doron P, and Litzy S, also known as The Meta-Chicks, and we are beginning 
to tackle our 10th grade DAP project. We chose our team name because we are trying to make a change for the Maternal Mental Health Conference, so we felt the medical term meta really represented our goal to make a change in the scientific field. As a team, our combined knowledge of pregnancy that we have learned over the last school year as well as personal experiences with mental health, pregnant family members, and design allow us to have a leading edge to solve the problem the Maternal Mental Health Conference has posed to us.
Starting a new project is always hard but establishing the actual problem is even harder. As a group we came to a understanding that the main purpose of this project is to see how can we use art to transmit information about perinatal mental health to Texas citizens. In our opinion citizens of the state of Texas, including ourselves are not properly educated about perinatal mental health, something that affects many around the world. Mental health is general is just a super important topic that everyone should be informed about. According to Mental Health America 20% percent of women in the United States of America are affected by perinatal mental health disorders, the most common being anxiety and depression. Even though many are not educated in this issue it’s still something that everyone should be, something that they can benefit from in the future when becoming a parent and helping the world become a better, more understanding community that is more welcoming of mothers and fathers that go through hard times.
The Maternal Mental Health Conference is actively trying to reach those goals too, and they’re generously providing us the opportunity to help them. They seek to provide expecting parents the opportunity to connect to medical professionals, especially for mental health. Additionally, they want to educate everyone on the risks, treatment, and symptoms of perinatal mental health disorders. Anyone who attends the conference will be able to gain information about these topics through talking to experts, watching presentations, or reading brochures. If you would like to be one of the people educated about these important topics, please visit the Maternal Mental Health Conference website for more information.
We personally connect with the Maternal Mental Health Conference’s goal because this year in our biomed class we are learning about pregnancy and we were completely blindsided about all the different types of mental health problems mothers and expecting mothers are susceptible to. Being biomed students and learning about pregnancy, we must be informed about perinatal mental health.
In conclusion, our group’s mission is to end ignorance about perinatal mental health among all citizens of Texas. Our goal is that mother’s mental health will be an open topic of discussion for everyone and that it won’t be something that mother’s would be ashamed of. We hope that we have your support in our cause to better the world and that the future generations will learn about mental health just like any other thing they learn. Will you be a part of this movement?
StarPathDesign 
I would like to say that I agree with the fact that mental health is really important, especially when you are pregnant/ a mother. I think that working with this organization is going to be a really good resources/idea for ya’ll. I would like to see mothers reaching out for help when they need it, and not be ashamed about it, like you had said. I hope that maybe this is the beginning of a new time for mothers to be more self aware, and focus on themselves a little bit more. What ya’ll are doing is going to make a impact, even if only 20% of mother suffer from an illness. 20% of mothers will be able to change their ways so that their life can be of a greater potential for their child. I would love to see how ya’ll resolve this problem in a creative and efficient way, good luck!
-Karla. R (Prenatal Yoga Group)
I also think that it is very important for everyone to be aware about perinatal mental health. It is great that y’all decided to work with the Maternal Mental Health Conference and put your creativity into a project that can make the world a better place for mothers and loved ones. It would be amazing to see a world where people reach out for the help they need.
-Lilly A. (Maternal Mental Health group)
I too am working with this organization and it’s really interesting to see how you guys view the problem that we’re facing. Mental health is a big issue that we as teenagers can face on a daily basis, if not, we know someone who is struggling with it, I can only imagine how being pregnant can negatively affect the mental health of a teen mom who is possibly already going through these things. I’m really excited to see how you guys take on the issue at hand and how you’ll help educate the general public and people in the medical field about perinatal health.
-Enalisa B (perinatal mental health)
I agree with your opinion on the mental health of mothers and I liked how you expressed your those said opinions through out your blog post.I also liked how you used a biomedical word as a portion of your group name, but you might want to specify what exactly meta means so that people who don’t have the biomedical knowledge that we do can understand the cleverness of your group name.
-Bella T. (Prenatal and Postpartum Mental Health Group)
I agree when you say that not many people are aware and know about perinatal mental health. 20% of mothers are affected and that is a lot because not many people are educated on this problem. I hope you have success in solving this problem, great job.
– Vanessa M.