February may not seem the optimal month for celebration. The days are short, often dark, and cold. And celebration seems especially surprising when the topic is maternal mental health.
While the facts are stark and worrisome, there is brightness on the horizon with growing awareness and potential resources to treat this troubling and sometimes tragic mental illness.
Maternal anxiety and depression are experienced by one in seven Utah mothers. Although treatment works, too many cases of maternal mental illness still go undiagnosed and untreated. The stigma of mental illness and lack of awareness among both healthcare providers and the general public leaves mothers too often isolated and suffering in silence.
The result can be disastrous. A recent Utah Department of Health review of maternal deaths in our state found that the leading causes were accidental drug-related deaths and suicide, both of which are associated with mental health challenges. The effects of this illness don’t stop there. There can be adverse impacts on infants whose physical and emotional development depends on their parents’ well-being. Left untreated, these impacts move beyond the family to have larger economic and societal implications.
Yet in this darkness, there is cause for celebration.
First, Gov. Gary Herbert declared February 2019 Utah Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month. This declaration calls needed attention to the quiet plight of the estimated 7,000 Utah mothers and families who suffer, and reminds us that anxiety/depression is the leading complication of childbirth — with rates higher than preterm birth, low birth weight babies and gestational diabetes. This declaration calls attention to evidence-based and cost-effective screening, detection and treatment to lessen the suffering of mothers and families across our state.
The Utah Legislature has also stepped up to address this issue. Last year, it unanimously passed SCR 11, Concurrent Resolution on Awareness and Treatment of Maternal Depression and Anxiety, to call attention to the problem. This year, under the guidance of Utah state Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost, the Legislature has prioritized state funding for increased training, health care and support. If this funding is included in the state’s final budget, particular focus will be on expanding tele-mental health outreach both to moms and families in rural areas who have little local access to mental health providers, and to mothers who find it difficult to leave their homes to seek care.
Finally, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has called national attention to these issues this month with its recommendation Interventions to Prevent Perinatal Depression. Following strict guidelines and an exhaustive review of evidence, they recommend that clinicians provide counseling interventions to pregnant or postpartum mothers who are at risk of experiencing perinatal anxiety or depression.
Each of these efforts brings hope, help, and some warmth to struggling mothers and families this cold February. Each is just a start, requiring ongoing work and statewide investment beyond this month or year.
Please join us in this work. Help new moms and their loved ones celebrate. If they cannot celebrate — if they feel hopeless, sad, angry, or just “not themselves” — offer your hand and lead them to resources. Ask your legislators to support statewide funding to reach more families. And together let’s make sure that every Utah mother, child, family, and community can thrive.
William E. Cosgrove, M.D.
William E. Cosgrove, M.D., is recent president of the Utah Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Erin Jemison, MPA, is the Director of Public Policy at YWCA Utah
Erin Jemison, MPA, is the director of public policy at YWCA Utah.
Both serve on the policy committee of the Utah Chapter of Postpartum Support International and advocate for policies that enhance mental health resources for women and families across our state.