The city has created a so-called "stress-free zone" in a low-income Brooklyn neighborhood where new parents can get everything from free massages to mental-health screenings to combat maternal mortality. Brownsville's "Neighborhood Stress-Free Zone" pilot - located at the Department of Health's Neighborhood Health Action Center Family Wellness Suite - opened in September to combat a deeply disturbing increase in the rate, which has been fueled by overdoses and suicides, officials said.
September is an important month for mental health awareness - Suicide Prevention Month. The goals of Suicide Prevention Month are to raise awareness, reduce mental health stigma, and promote help-seeking behaviors. Despite some promising reductions in U.S. suicide rates in the general population over the last decade, maternal suicide rates have increased during the same time period. Maternal suicide is defined as the death of a woman by suicide during the perinatal period (while pregnant or during the first year after giving birth).