New mom finds support in maternal mental health program

Christine Galuppo was used to preparing for the unexpected. Having gone through several physically and emotionally taxing rounds of in vitro fertilization (IVF) over the years with her husband Chris, she was finally pregnant. They were thrilled and had been preparing for the delivery of their baby for as long as they had been trying to conceive, but this, too, played out differently than anticipated.

“When it was time to deliver, I was in labor a lot longer than expected, then had an emergency C-section,” Christine says. “This made me feel somewhat inferior due to not delivering the ‘traditional way.’”

Despite her difficult delivery, their baby girl, Josephine, arrived safely into the world at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns.

Not the experience she expected

Christine describes her first six weeks with Josephine as “rough and dark.” She experienced intense feelings of grief and paranoia — grief from mourning her prior life and paranoia from fear that she would accidentally hurt her baby.

“I knew rationally that having Josephine was one of the best things to ever happen to me, but somehow, I felt like my life was flashing before my eyes,” she says. “I had no idea how to navigate my new life and what ‘normal’ was going to feel like. I knew I needed to seek help when I found myself crying more frequently out of the blue and not wanting to get out of bed most mornings.”

During her routine six-week check-up with her OBGYN, Christine shared that she was not feeling like herself.

“The ‘baby blues’ that I had heard about did not pass; if anything, the grief and paranoia expanded to postpartum rage and depression,” Christine says. “My OBGYN referred me to the Sharp HealthCare Maternal Mental Health Program, which I participated in for about six weeks — both virtually and in person. The program included individual sessions with a therapist as well as a psychiatrist who helped me manage my medications.”

Program provides care, compassion and connection with other moms

The Sharp intensive outpatient program provides comprehensive, specialized care for people who are pregnant or postpartum and experiencing moderate to severe mental health conditions that are affecting their daily lives beyond a 2-to-3-week period.

“You quickly start to realize that no one was there to judge or minimize your issues,” Christine says. “It was quite the opposite! We were all there to sincerely process our experience from each of our respective journeys — from getting pregnant to postpartum.”

According to Tatiana Betancourt, a licensed clinical social worker, the postpartum period, also known as the fourth trimester – is a critical time for women.

“We are proud to help provide access and care to women who need mental health support,” she says. “It can be a difficult journey, so I was thrilled to see the improvements that Christine made during her time in the program.”

Today, Christine is doing well and feeling more confident. She describes her bond with Josephine as stronger than ever, and credits her husband as her biggest cheerleader while supporting her postpartum. Even though she still has difficult days, she now knows how to manage her emotions.

“I felt such a strong sense of connection and engagement with the other mothers in the group, and continuing to use the tools I learned daily has helped me tremendously,” Christine says. “Being able to express those concerns in a group and have others relate to it was so validating. I was able to work through and reframe my core beliefs to be able to give myself more grace and became so much nicer to myself.”

Christine’s also happy to be able to help other moms going through a similar experience. Her biggest piece of advice: Never be ashamed to seek help.

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