Press Release

Be Part of the Change: "From Change to Power" Advocacy Day Unites Voices for Maternal Mental Health

WHAT:                

Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Los Angeles) will join maternal mental health survivors, advocates, healthcare providers and lawmakers at the State Capitol on Tuesday, April 29 for “From Pain to Power: A Storytelling & Advocacy Day to Transform Perinatal Mental Health in California.” Hosted by the California Coalition for Perinatal Mental Health & Justice (CCPMHJ) and partners, the event will feature survivor storytelling, a documentary screening, and remarks from key legislative champions ahead of the Senate Health Committee hearing on SB 626, authored by Senator Smallwood-Cuevas. SB 626 is a landmark bill that would strengthen screenings, expand insurance coverage, and increase accountability across California’s perinatal mental health care system.

 

WHY:    Key Facts on Maternal Mental Health

  • Perinatal mental health conditions are the most common complication of pregnancy and a leading cause of maternal death (NIH)
  • 1 in 3 birthing people are affected—yet 75% go untreated (CDPH/MIHA)
  • Perinatal depression is the leading cause of maternal mortality (CDC/The Joint Commission)
  • Black women are dying at three times the rate of Caucasian women (NIH) 
  • California spends an estimated $2.4 billion annually on the consequences of untreated PMH conditions (Mathematica)

 

WHEN:  

Tuesday, April 29, 2025

11:00 am to 12:00 pm

 

WHERE: 

California State Capitol – Eureka Room (Basement)

1315 10th St, Sacramento, CA 95814

Live Stream Link: https://sd28.senate.ca.gov/ 

 

AGENDA:

  • 11:01 – 11:05 am: Setting the Stage: Purpose, Grounding & Call to Action (Gabrielle Brown, Black Women for Wellness Action Project)
  • Event co-organizer frames the day’s purpose and goals, offers a grounding, and calls for collective healing and policy change through storytelling and action.

 

  • 11:05 – 11:10 am: From Pain to Power: Story Behind the Movement (Cassie Gardener Manjikian, MPH, CCPMHJ)
    • A postpartum psychosis survivor and event co-organizer shares her own journey, and how her story led to organizing a volunteer survivor-led movement for statewide change.

 

  • 11:10 – 11:17 am: Perinatal Mental Health Context: What’s at Stake? (Elyse Springer, LMFT, PMH-C, PSI-CA)
  • Postpartum depression survivor and event co-organizer provides clinical framing, demonstrating the human impacts, systems failure and policy gaps.
     
  • 11:17 – 11:25 am: SB 626 Overview: A Policy Solution with People at the Center (Joy Burkhard, Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health)
    • Maternal Mental Health policy expert and event provides state and national policy context, including systemic policy problems and how SB 626 is a solution.

 

  • 11:25 – 11:30 am: Documentary Clip: “The Imperfect Mothers Club”
    • Documentarian Dev Herbert screens “The Imperfect Mothers Club,” a documentary film showcasing those who’ve experienced postpartum mental health, focusing on healing through storytelling.
  • Link to Dev Herbert’s documentary trailer

    11:30 – 11:45 am: Stories from the Frontlines (Jessica Walker, Be Mom Aware/ Sacramento Maternal Mental Health Collaborative, and Jade Ross, Los Angeles County MotherBoard Community Leader)

    • Participants share their perinatal mental health stories, fostering connection, healing and empowerment, while highlighting systemic gaps.

 

  • 11:45 – 11:55 am: Remarks from Legislative Champions
    • Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, SD 28, Author of SB 626
    • TBD: Senator Sabrina Cervantes, SD 31, Principal Co-Author of SB 626

 

WHO:                  

Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (SB 626 Author)

TBD: Senator Sabrina Cervantes (SB 626 Principal Co-Author)

Gabrielle Brown (Black Maternal Mental Health Advocate; Spokesperson)

Jessica Walker (Survivor & Event Organizer; Spokesperson)
Cassie Gardener Manjikian (Survivor & Event Organizer; Spokesperson)

Elyse Springer, LMFT, PMH-C (Survivor & Event Organizer; Spokesperson)

Joy Burkhard (Maternal Mental Health Policy Expert; Spokesperson)    

 

ABOUT CCPMHJ:

The mission of California Coalition for Perinatal Mental Health & Justice (CCPMHJ) is to improve the health and well-being of birthing people and families in California through strategic storytelling, movement-building and policy advocacy to transform the perinatal mental health system, centering on historically oppressed, marginalized and under-resourced parents.

PROGRAM PARTNERS:

Be Mom Aware, Sacramento Maternal Mental Health Collaborative, Black Women for Wellness Action Project, Postpartum Support International - California Chapter, Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health, Maternal Mental Health NOW

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