May 6, 2024

“Not Good” – Results From First-Ever Maternal Health Report Card Released

Maternal mental health refers to the psychological and emotional wellness of females throughout pregnancy and after childbirth. It is a vital aspect of ladiess health that often goes ignored, yet can have an extensive effect on the mother, the child, and the family as a whole.
The Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health, operating in partnership with George Washington University, is launching the inaugural assessment of state efforts to take on maternal psychological health. The findings expose that 42 states have actually gotten a grade of D or lower.
Around 600,000 (20%) U.S. moms struggle with maternal psychological health conditions such as postpartum anxiety each year, with Black and other minority females facing considerable disparities in both their rates of event and access to proper care. It is thought that approximately half of these mothers are not identified by a healthcare professional, which a staggering 75% of women do not get the needed treatment detailed in their medical insurance coverage.
If left unaddressed, maternal mental health conditions can have harmful effects on ladiess health, family stability, and the development of kids. The annual cost to the United States from unattended maternal mental disorder is approximated to be $14.2 billion.

To deal with the spaces the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health has, in collaboration with the George Washington University (GW), developed a progress report that scores each states efforts.
The inaugural Maternal Mental Health Report Card supplies the first-ever extensive view into the state of maternal psychological health in America. Credit: The Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health
” Because in the United States health shipment is largely managed by the states, we understood it was time to provide states insight into how they are supporting maternal mental health. With a standard set of steps, states can now benchmark their efficiency versus other states and compare their own performance year over year,” Joy Burkhard, Executive Director of the Policy Center, said.
The transcript grades states in 3 key domains:

As much as three points are attended to each of the 17 procedures within these domains.
” The outcomes of this first-ever grading system are not great– with 42 states getting a D or listed below,” Caitlin Murphy, the research scientist at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health, whose research supported the creation of the progress report, said. “The greatest grade any state got was a B-, and this was in simply one state– California– where the Policy Center has suggested that significant recent philanthropic, legal, and advocacy efforts have happened.”
Referral: “Inaugural Maternal Mental Health State Report Card.”

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