ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Life can change in the blink of an eye. New moms, like Destiny Wilson, would know best.

“I didn’t have time to think about [anything]," Wilson said. "It was life. One thing after another. Back to back, back to back."

She was one year sober and was preparing for a procedure to remove fibroids on her ovaries when she found out she was pregnant. She was looking for a new bright beginning.

What You Need To Know

  • According to a study done by Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield, New York state rates of birth complications after patients leave the hospital higher than the national average
  • Analysis of millions of births shows one-third of birth complications occur during the six weeks following discharge and disproportionately affect Black patients
  • Destiny Wilson was suffering from mental health diagnoses, and preparing for an ovarian procedure when she learned she was pregnant
  • Excellus BCBS's Bright Beginnings Program connected her to the mental health services she needed after being diagnosed with post partum depression after giving birth to her daughter, Etiquette
  • The program aims to bridge the gap to fill necessary gaps in care like transportation, resources, and provider referrals to help new parents effectively care for themselves and their mental health

“That was like the main thing — I really didn’t allow myself to feel none of that. I went through a process where I didn’t even realize that I was disconnected from my daughter,” she said.

The new mom was already suffering from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and social anxiety when she was diagnosed with postpartum depression.

“Don’t get me wrong, I heard of postpartum. But for me, it was different because I never experienced [anything] like this before. I didn’t know that I was like disconnected from her," said Wilson.

Mental health is something the Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield’s Bright Beginnings Program can help with.

“We take action-based what we’re seeing in the data. And we are finding that those abysmal numbers are coming through more consistently and more prominently after delivery," Simone Edwards, vice president of health equity and community investments at Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield, said. "So we certainly need to pay attention to what we’re seeing in the birthing population after delivery. So we have to take action."

The company recently did a study that showed New York state’s rate of birth complications after patients leave the hospital are higher than the national average. According to its analysis of millions of births, one in every three dangerous and unexpected birth complications occur during the six weeks following discharge and disproportionately affect Black patients.

“Sometimes it's because of lack of education around the issues and the particular symptoms that they're experiencing," Edwards said. "So we've identified ways in which we can educate our members through our Bright Beginnings program around certain symptoms that they should be, you know, recognizing and what they should do in response to that so that they can prevent potentially having further complications or even mortality, death."

There are more than a dozen professionals across the state, including social workers and nurses, helping new moms find resources like transportation, food, access to prescriptions, and even motherly necessities like car seats or breast pumps.

“It’s a lot of people. I can’t even put it on my fingers. I know more than 10 people that I’m connected with right now. People are still calling me, like, ‘Oh, we can connect you with this, give you a referral for this.’ I can’t even count on my fingers how many people I know," Wilson said. "But what I do know is that all of these people are definitely, if I call them or they call me, if I need help, they’re going to help me."

“When I talk about resources, I'm talking about not only clinical resources, but social research resources, such as helping our members get transportation, fulfill their transportation needs. I always say that you could have the best clinical program, but if you don't have a social component attached to that to help our members get to that best in class clinical program, like our Bright Beginnings program, then it's null and void, right?” Edwards said. “It is a great program where we have a clinical intervention of our nurses, our social workers, reaching out to these members, helping them, to educate them on their the side, the warning signs of maternal complications, helping them with all of their clinical needs and in addition, helping them getting their social needs answered so that they can be as healthy as possible.”

“I went so long with no one. I had a problem, you know what I’m saying? But didn’t want to get help for that problem. Knowing that I have a program today and I have the resources and tools, I am happy that I’m able to acknowledge I have a problem," Wilson said. "And I need help with this problem.”

Excellus BCBS’s Bright Beginnings Program connected Wilson with a psychiatrist to help her relearn how to handle life problems in a healthy way, and reconnect with her mini-me, Etiquette.

“[Without it,] we wouldn’t be here right now. I’d probably still be out on the streets somewhere, to be honest with you,” Wilson said. “I never had this much support in my life. Not just for me, but to have her. It’s amazing.”