When hospital procurement decisions are focused on cost, patients pay the price.
Can perinatal mood and anxiety disorders affect the health of a baby?
Yes. Mood and anxiety disorders can interrupt the natural rhythm and attachment between parent and child
Why is it important that medications and devices be developed specifically
for infants?
When it comes to medical innovation, not all patients are the same.
For hundreds of thousands of women, the excitement of having a new baby is marred by overwhelming feelings of anxiety and helplessness caused by postpartum depression. The condition robs new parents of happiness during what they rightly expect to be a joyous time.
Sadly, many women experiencing postpartum depression will not receive a medical diagnosis or treatment. Often new moms or their health care providers don’t know the signs of postpartum depression—or don’t recognize them. And most hospitals do not yet have screening policies in place.
In some cases, when new moms know something isn’t right, they feel embarrassed, ashamed or too overwhelmed by the responsibilities of new motherhood to take time to get or ask for help. This is not healthy for them or their babies, which is why it’s important to know the facts about postpartum depression.
Nearly one in four pregnancy-related deaths was caused by a mental health condition, including suicide and drug overdose, according to newly released data. Maternal deaths that occur during pregnancy through one year postpartum are included in the compilation of data from 36 states.
One in seven. That’s how many women experience postpartum depression.
It’s perhaps the oldest partnership in health care – safeguarding an expectant mother through pregnancy, assisting with the miracle of birth, and caring for the new mother and infant afterward. And increasingly, each stage of the process entails doctors treating patients remotely over high-speed internet and telecom connections.
Babies born during the pandemic will never know what life was like “before 2020.” Yet policies meant to minimize the spread of COVID-19 may have a lifelong impact on babies born last year.
America’s maternal mortality rates are among the highest in the developed world. It’s a crisis of epic proportions. And like many other crises, not all Americans are equitably affected.
A newly approved medication for postpartum depression could mark a major advance for new mothers – if they can access the drug.
Called brexanolone, the drug is the first ever that’s specifically approved to treat postpartum depression. The condition affects one in nine women, who experience feelings of worthlessness and disconnect from their new baby. The condition can be easy to miss, largely because symptoms of new motherhood such as sleeplessness and fatigue can also be symptoms of postpartum depression. Untreated, the condition can undermine a mother’s ability to bond and care for her baby or herself. In extreme cases, it can lead to suicide.
Clinical trials of the new drug showed exciting – and near-instantaneous – results, with women improving as quickly as 48 hours after treatment. And those benefits lasted for months afterward. One member of the FDA advisory council that recommended approval of the drug called it “groundbreaking.” Current treatment typically includes standard antidepressants or talk therapy, both of which can require weeks to take effect.
A recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is bringing new attention to postpartum depression and its treatment. The government panel, whose expert members are appointed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, says women should be screened for depression both during pregnancy and after giving birth. The decision means that screening must now be treated by health plans as a covered service under the Affordable Care Act.
The recommendation marks the first time the task force has suggested screening for maternal mental illness. But it reflects a growing recognition of the condition – and mothers’ need for access to screening and treatment. Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) introduced in 2015 the Bringing Postpartum Depression Out of the Shadows Act, a bill designed to help states better detect and treat the condition. She called the task force’s recommendation “a major turning point in how we care for families.”
