“A Freeing of My Mind”: Narrative Accounts of Perinatal Mental Health in the Context of Rx Kids, a Prenatal and Infant Unconditional Cash Transfer Program
Abstract
Background: In 2024, a new program called Rx Kids began providing unconditional cash transfers to all expectant mothers and infants in Flint, Michigan. Through a lump sum payment provided mid-pregnancy and monthly payments for up to a year after birth, the place-based maternal and infant health program is aimed at providing economic stability to improve the health, hope, and happiness of mothers and newborns.
Objective: This study examined how mothers who had received Rx Kids cash transfers discussed perceived impacts on their perinatal mental health while participating in the program.
Design: Qualitative.
Methods: Thematic analysis was used to analyze interviews conducted between July and October 2025 with 46 mothers from Flint, Michigan, who participated in the Rx Kids program. Conceptual frameworks from medical anthropology and psychology were utilized to interpret their narratives.
Results: Three dominant themes emerged pertaining to mothers’ experiences of perinatal mental health in the context of receiving Rx Kids cash transfers: 1) financial relief and perinatal well-being; 2) postpartum time affluence; and 3) program communication as a form of care.
Conclusion: For mothers in Flint, Michigan, financial concerns play a central role in their narratives of their perinatal mental health struggles with stress and postpartum depression. Analyzing their descriptions of perceived shifts, adaptions and relief associated with their participation in Rx Kids, we find that the program was often depicted as equally impactful in terms of improving mothers’ mental health as it was in easing financial pressures.
Related
- Postpartum Depression Risk Following Exposure to Universal and Unconditional Perinatal Cash Transfers
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- Elevated prenatal IL-6 levels disrupt early patterns of hippocampal electrical activity and chloride homeostasis by targeting GABAergic signaling at perinatal stage
- Perinatal insults, genetic susceptibility, and the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders: from epigenetic remodeling to neural circuit dysfunction—a narrative review
- Prenatal psychological care to prevent emotional and reproductive complications in pregnancy after perinatal loss: a mixed methods study
BibTeX
@misc{doenmez2026freeing,
title = {{“A Freeing of My Mind”: Narrative Accounts of Perinatal Mental Health in the Context of Rx Kids, a Prenatal and Infant Unconditional Cash Transfer Program}},
author = {Caroline Doenmez and Crystal Cederna and Mona Hanna},
howpublished = {PsyArXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.31234/osf.io/jkvy2_v1},
url = {https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/jkvy2_v1/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - “A Freeing of My Mind”: Narrative Accounts of Perinatal Mental Health in the Context of Rx Kids, a Prenatal and Infant Unconditional Cash Transfer Program
AU - Caroline Doenmez
AU - Crystal Cederna
AU - Mona Hanna
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/24
PB - PsyArXiv
DO - 10.31234/osf.io/jkvy2_v1
UR - https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/jkvy2_v1/
AB - Background: In 2024, a new program called Rx Kids began providing unconditional cash transfers to all expectant mothers and infants in Flint, Michigan. Through a lump sum payment provided mid-pregnancy and monthly payments for up to a year after birth, the place-based maternal and infant health program is aimed at providing economic stability to improve the health, hope, and happiness of mothers and newborns. Objective: This study examined how mothers who had received Rx Kids cash transfers discussed perceived impacts on their perinatal mental health while participating in the program. Design: Qualitative. Methods: Thematic analysis was used to analyze interviews conducted between July and October 2025 with 46 mothers from Flint, Michigan, who participated in the Rx Kids program. Conceptual frameworks from medical anthropology and psychology were utilized to interpret their narratives. Results: Three dominant themes emerged pertaining to mothers’ experiences of perinatal mental health in the context of receiving Rx Kids cash transfers: 1) financial relief and perinatal well-being; 2) postpartum time affluence; and 3) program communication as a form of care. Conclusion: For mothers in Flint, Michigan, financial concerns play a central role in their narratives of their perinatal mental health struggles with stress and postpartum depression. Analyzing their descriptions of perceived shifts, adaptions and relief associated with their participation in Rx Kids, we find that the program was often depicted as equally impactful in terms of improving mothers’ mental health as it was in easing financial pressures.
ER -