New mothers will have more access to resources to deal with postpartum depression under a bill Gov. Josh Shapiro ceremonially signed Tuesday.
The new law would require state departments of health to develop a list of resources and fact sheets on perinatal or postpartum mood and anxiety disorders that health care providers can provide to pregnant women and newborns.
House Bill 2127 is part of an eight-bill package called “Mamnibus” addressing maternal health and disease that the Black Maternal and Child Health Caucus introduced this year.
The Black Maternal and Child Health Caucus will launch in 2023 and will be led by state Rep. Latasha D. Mays (D-Allegheny), state Rep. Gina Curry (D-Delaware), and state Rep. Morgan Cephas (D-Philadelphia). ) serves as co-chair of the executive committee and fights against the alarming mother. Prevalence among women of color.
According to a 2022 report from the Maternal Mortality Review Board, which examines all maternal deaths in the Commonwealth, the incidence rate among Black women was nearly twice the overall mortality rate at 82 per 100,000 live births.
The state House took a final vote Monday to send another bill to Shapiro that would require Medicaid coverage for doulas, women who provide guidance and support to mothers during labor and after birth. The bill, sponsored by Cephas, passed with near-unanimous approval in the Senate earlier this month.
Mr. Shapiro also held a ceremony Monday to sign legislation that would require insurance coverage and remove financial barriers for speech therapy for children who stutter. The ceremony was attended by the bill’s lead sponsor, Rep. Brandon Markosek (D-Allegheny), and former NBA star Michael Kidd Gilchrist. Both men overcame their stuttering through speech therapy.
The bills are among more than a dozen bills signed by Shapiro this month as the 2023-2024 legislative session draws to a close.
Representative Elizabeth Fiedler (D-Philadelphia) was the co-lead sponsor of the Postpartum Depression Act, along with Representatives Gina Curry (D-Delaware) and Lisa Borowski (D-Delaware). Fiedler, a mother of two, told the Capital Star on Tuesday that the issue is deeply personal to her.
“I wish I had known 10 years ago, when I was still a mom, that postpartum depression was really common,” she said. “This is a treatable mental health condition and it can get better.”
Mental health conditions are the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths in Pennsylvania, with nearly 75 percent of mothers experiencing postpartum depression and most going untreated, according to the state Maternal Mortality Investigation Board.
Under the bill Shapiro signed Tuesday, the Department of Health is required to maintain an up-to-date list of organizations that provide counseling for postpartum mental health disorders. Lists and literature to raise awareness of perinatal and postnatal mental health should be provided in a variety of languages, including English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Mandarin, and Chinese.
“More new moms, more families are going to learn this simple but really important fact,” Fiedler said. “When people are dealing with a new baby at home, the joys and the challenges, and then something like postpartum depression hits, it makes everything even more difficult.”
