Post Partum Depression

Abstract

Welcome to Public Health Moment from the University of Minnesota. A New Jersey state law intended to improve treatment of women suffering from post-partum depression had no impact on women who were covered by Medicaid. That’s according to research led by Katy Backes Kozzymonil, an assistant professor of health policy at the University of Minnesota. The law requires screening postpartum depression screening for new mothers and was coupled with an aggressive awareness campaign. <Katy: “Postpartum depression is a serious illness that affects 19 percent of new mothers in the first three months following birth. The good news is that when postpartum depression is identified, it is treatable, using psychotherapies and anti-depressant medications. But, left untreated, postpartum depression can have severe debilitating affects, both for the mother and her baby, and longterm impacts on the child and the family as a whole.”> Kozhimannil says there are three ways to improve policies to improve treatment. <Katy: “One is to include in legislative and policy efforts, explicit efforts to address known barriers to care. Secondly, it’s important to think about payment for postpartum depression screening—whether that comes from an insurance coverage requirement or other types of mechanisms for payment for the services that clinicians provide. And, thirdly, the issues of monitoring and enforcement are incredibly important. We need to make sure that we’re measuring the outcomes that we care about and are able to enforce the policies that are in place.”> For Public Health Moment, I’m Mark Engebretson.