Notre Dame researcher pilots postpartum care model in South Bend-Elkhart area

University partners with Beacon Health System to improve maternal mental health support
Efforts are growing in the South Bend-Elkhart area to better support mothers after baby arrives.
Published: May 8, 2026 at 5:36 PM EDT

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - With Mother’s Day this weekend and Maternal Mental Health Month underway, efforts are growing in the South Bend-Elkhart area to better support moms after baby arrives.

Dr. Joyce Adams — an associate professor of the practice and global maternal research lead for the Eck Institute for Global Health at the University of Notre Dame — is partnering with Beacon Health System to pilot a postpartum care model aimed at improving support during the critical weeks and months after childbirth.

Adams has also helped establish the Pop Up Pregnancy and Family Village, a periodic resource fair connecting women and families with services and support. Her work was featured in the “What Would You Fight For?” campaign last fall.

Adams joined Lauren Moss and Joshua Short on 16 News Now at 4 to discuss why maternal mental health deserves greater focus and how research can improve postpartum health outcomes. The full interview can be viewed in the video above.

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