The BIRTH Network
Comprehensive care and support for every birthing person
BGMH Foundation created the BIRTH Network to close the gap in maternal mental health care for underserved mamas and birthing people. Through sponsored care, provider training, referral connections, and community-based programs, we are changing how families experience pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.
The BIRTH Network is BGMH Foundation's referral and support hub connecting mamas and birthing people to affirming mental health care, culturally matched providers, and community during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.
It is the front door to everything BGMH Foundation offers: sponsored therapy, doula and lactation referrals, support groups, parenting workshops, and a team that follows up to make sure care actually happens.
We built it because the data made the need impossible to ignore. More than 35% of birthing people report anxiety or depression during pregnancy or postpartum, yet only about half receive mental health care. Maternal suicide is a leading cause of pregnancy-related death in California.
The BIRTH Network exists to close that gap directly: by removing cost as a barrier, by matching families with providers who understand their experience, and by never letting a referral end in a dead end.
What is the BIRTH Network?
Sponsored therapy, couples counseling, and relationship education are available to families who could not otherwise afford care.
Every referral connects families to providers trained in perinatal mental health and culturally responsive practice, not a generic directory search.
Our annual Community Needs Assessment shapes every part of the model, from which support groups we run to how our sponsorship program is structured.
We do not hand someone a phone number and hope for the best. Our team personally connects each participant to their matched provider and follows up to confirm the connection happened.
Support continues through a tracked plan for as long as a family needs it, not just a single referral.
Therapy, doulas, lactation consultants, support groups, parenting workshops, and provider training all live under one network.
Why choose the BIRTH Network
Every initiative within the BIRTH Network was designed with one goal: to make sure mothers, women, and birthing individuals never have to navigate this alone.
Programs Built for You
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Perinatal Mental Health Training
Quarterly training for clinicians, birth workers, and medical providers ready to show up more confidently for the mamas and birthing people they serve. Free seats are available for eligible providers.
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Clinical Birth Worker Internship
Training the next generation of providers who are both mental health clinicians and certified doulas. Open to graduate students in social work, counseling, public health, and related fields.
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Accessible Therapy Program
Free therapy fund for mamas and birthing people who qualify. Matched with culturally responsive, perinatal-trained therapists. Virtual, confidential, and free for eligible families.
Support Groups & Parenting Workshops
Support Groups
Our community needs assessment found that 62% of birthing people wanted ongoing peer connection during the perinatal period. In response, the BGMH Foundation offers free, therapist-led support circles focused on postpartum adjustment, identity shifts, and emotional well-being. These groups foster community care, reduce isolation, and help participants build networks of support that extend beyond formal treatment.
Parenting Workshops
Evidence-based workshops designed to help families build strong foundations before and after the baby arrives. Each program blends practical tools with culturally responsive facilitation for mamas and families at every stage.
How the BIRTH Network Works
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Application
Mamas, birthing people, family members, and partner organizations can refer someone into the BIRTH Network through a short online application.
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Matching
Our team reviews each application and matches the individual with the right entry point, whether that is sponsored therapy, a support group, a referral to a doula or lactation consultant, or a combination of services.
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Needs Assessment
Every participant completes a brief, trauma-informed intake to understand what they are carrying: mental health history, current stressors, insurance status, and what kind of support feels right to them.
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Support Plan
Based on the assessment, we build a personalized plan that may include individual or couples therapy, a support group, a parenting workshop, or a warm handoff to one of our partner providers.
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Warm Handoff
Our team personally connects each participant to their matched provider or program, and follows up to make sure the connection actually happened.
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Ongoing Care
Support does not end at the first session. We track outcomes throughout each participant's time in the Network and stay in contact to make sure care continues for as long as it is needed.
Outcomes that speak for themselves
Sponsored participants report increased willingness to seek help and stay engaged in care once cost barriers were removed.
Our Partners
We collaborate with organizations and individuals committed to improving perinatal mental health and wellness. Here are a few of our partners:
Grow the BIRTH Network
The BIRTH Network only works because of the providers and organizations who show up for it. There is a place for you here too.
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Are you a provider?
Doulas, lactation consultants, therapists, and other perinatal professionals can apply to join our referral directory and start receiving warm handoffs from families who need exactly what you offer.
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Represent an organization?
Health systems, universities, funders, and community-based organizations can partner with BGMH Foundation to expand access to culturally responsive maternal mental health care.
No mama should navigate this alone
Whether you are seeking support, looking to train your team, or interested in partnering with us, we would love to hear from you.