Flamingo Program – Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs)

The Department of OB/GYN provides the Flamingo Program to help people suffering from Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs), which encompasses perinatal mood disorders and postpartum depression.

Please refer to the sections on this page below:

Why is this program called the Flamingo Program?

Flamingo mothers become white when caring for their baby birds due to their drained energy
Flamingos who are caring for their baby birds are similar to people suffering from PMADs because they turn from a pink color to white due to the drained energy.

People suffering from PMADs often have drained energy, depression, and anxiety. Our program was named the "Flamingo" Program because flamingos show similar characteristics when caring for their young.

Flamingos are well-known for their beautiful pink plumage. But their color fades to white when caring for their baby birds. So, an adult flamingo that's looking whiter than you'd expect is most likely a mother or father who's tired from caring for their little one.

Our mission is to prevent and help treat PMADs that impact 1 out of 5 people. We provide the personal, community, and professional support you need to regain your mental wellness and return to your fully energized self.

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What are PMADs?

PMADs describe symptoms that can occur during pregnancy or throughout the first year postpartum. Symptoms can include: 

  • Feeling overly tired
  • Experiencing appetite changes
  • Poor sleep
  • Not feeling like yourself
  • Crying often

Sometimes symptoms can be dismissed as being "typical" experiences of pregnancy or parenthood. But if symptoms persist and make your everyday life challenging, you should consider seeking help.

Types of PMADs include:

  • Perinatal or postpartum anxiety disorder
  • Perinatal or postpartum depression
  • Perinatal or postpartum obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
  • Perinatal or postpartum psychosis

For more information on the different types and symptoms, please speak with your obstetrician or midwife.

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What to expect

As part of the program, you can expect:

  1. A brief conversation with a nurse, midwife or OB provider during your ~28-week prenatal visit about postpartum care. You will receive a packet that includes self-help tools and community resources, which may be mailed or sent electronically.
  2. A message from myDH asking you to fill out a brief electronic questionnaire asking about your mood, health, and well-being about 2 to 3 weeks postpartum.
  3. A phone call from a specialty-trained nurse to follow up on the questionnaire you completed and get you connected to any necessary services or resources about 3 to 6 weeks postpartum.

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Flamingo Program team

Your Flamingo Program team includes:

  • Behavioral Health Counselors, such as Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW) and social workers with a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree
  • Community Health Resource Coordinators
  • OBGYNs
  • Midwives
  • Psychiatrists
  • Specialty-trained Registered Nurses (RNs)

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Other services and resources

Behavioral Health services (including Brief Therapy)

Our behavioral health counselors are certified in Perinatal Mental Health by Postpartum Support International and work closely with your midwife or obstetrician. We provide brief psychotherapy, consisting of up to 8 counseling sessions, to support you when experiencing perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, fertility concerns, grief, and other mental health challenges. We can also help identify community referral options if you're interested in longer-term psychotherapy.

Community resources

If you're having trouble accessing food, supplies, transportation, housing, or other social needs, our team's Community Health Resource Coordinator can help you find community support.

The Fourth Trimester Group

The Fourth Trimester group meets at the Women's Health Resource Center every Thursday morning. This group offers new parents and their babies a chance to connect, make new friends, and share and discuss nursing and other baby care issues.

Perinatal psychiatry

The perinatal psychiatry team evaluates and provides care for mental health disorders that affect patients during pregnancy and after childbirth. They specialize in helping you with decisions about the treatment of psychiatric illness in both pregnancy and the postpartum period. They weigh the risks associated with untreated psychiatric illness against the risks of medication use.

While this team cannot provide ongoing psychiatric care beyond the early postpartum period, they can connect you with primary care providers for continued management.

Primary Care

You can connect with a postpartum primary care provider if you do not already have one. This ensures you receive the support you need early on. The goal is to help you smoothly transition from obstetric care and psychiatry to primary care for ongoing support related to mental health medication management and preventative health needs.

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Contact us

Dartmouth Health OB/GYN Lebanon clinic main phone: 603-653-9300

The Postpartum Support International (PSI) HelpLine is available for people needing support. You can call or text the PSI HelpLine:

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