Maternal Mental Health, part 1
This has been a powerful week in that I have attended two presentations addressing the current maternal health crisis in the United States. There are some staggering statistics that indicate the growing number of maternal deaths in the US, both during birth and during the postpartum period. And the numbers for BIPOC women are 3-4x/higher. There is a measured health disparity as well as unequal access to care for women of color. Here’s data from the Maternal Mortality Review in 2017-2019 - “Four in 5 pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. are preventable”.
While much of the research focuses on medical issues, I am most interested in the mental health of women postpartum. These stats were mind-blowing for me: “Among pregnancy-related deaths with information on timing, 22% of deaths occurred during pregnancy, 25% occurred on the day of delivery or within 7 days after, and 53% occurred between 7 days to 1 year after pregnancy. The leading underlying cause of death varied by race and ethnicity. Cardiac and coronary conditions were the leading underlying cause of pregnancy-related deaths among non-Hispanic Black people, mental health conditions were the leading underlying cause for Hispanic and non-Hispanic White people, and hemorrhage was the leading underlying cause for non-Hispanic Asian people.” To me that screams for better medical and mental health screenings and services for postpartum women!
During postpartum visits with every mom I provide an assessment form that explains more about postpartum symptoms (depression, anxiety, trauma, etc.) beyond the typical baby blues. This tool was created by Postpartum Support International (PSI) - https://www.postpartum.net/resources/discussion-tool/ and states that 1 in 7 moms (and 1 in 10 dads) experience symptoms of depression or anxiety during the postpartum period.
This discussion tool leads to nearly every mother explaining that she does feel her mood has been impacted and/or she feels anxious more than she did prior to birth. These are important conversations and I am urging moms to talk about these difficult feelings rather than pretend they aren’t there. It’s hard to admit to feeling sad, hopeless and disinterested when people around you expect you to feel blissfully happy with your baby.
I could write about this for hours, but want to keep these posts concise. Consider this part 1 of many posts trying to widen the conversation about so many maternal health issues - racial inequity, limited access to care for Cape moms so far from the hospital. mental health during the perinatal period, baby blues vs postpartum depression, and ways to take care of ourselves and each other as moms.
Sources:
https://www.postpartum.net/learn-more/
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2022/p0919-pregnancy-related-deaths.html
https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/vital-signs/identifying-maternal-depression/index.html
