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5.01.2024

What to Know About Maternal Mental Health

A Maternal Mental Health Crisis in the U.S. – 5 Key Statistics:

• Mental health conditions are the most common complication of pregnancy and childbirth, affecting at least 1 in 5 mothers or childbearing people (800,000 families) each year in the United States.^1,2
• In Nevada, there are approximately 36,000 births per year and approximately 7,200 families who are impacted by maternal mental health conditions.³
• Suicide and overdose are the leading causes of death in the first year postpartum with over 80% of these deaths deemed preventable.⁴
• 75% of women experiencing maternal mental health conditions do not get the care needed for recovery.
• The cost of not treating maternal mental health conditions is $32,000 per mother-infant pair, totaling $14.2 billion nationally.
• In Nevada, the cost of untreated maternal mental health conditions is estimated at $173 million due to mother’s lost wages and productivity, as well as poor health outcomes for mother and baby.³
• Left untreated, these illnesses can have long-term negative impacts on parents, babies, families, and society.

What Is Maternal Mental Health?

Pregnancy and a new baby can bring a range of emotions. In fact, many women feel overwhelmed, sad, or anxious at different times during their pregnancy and even after the baby is born. For many women, these feelings go away on their own. But for some women, these emotions are more serious and may stay for months.

Maternal mental health, also known as perinatal mental health, refers to a mother’s overall emotional, social, and mental well-being, both during and after pregnancy. Hormone changes that occur during pregnancy often affect mood, but there can be more serious mental health issues that may arise during and after pregnancy that may require treatment.

What are Some Risks of Not Treating a Mental Health Condition While Pregnant?^1,5

Risks for the baby

• Premature birth
• Infant irritability
• Developmental delays
• Low birth weight
• Sleeping and feeding troubles
• Cognitive deficits

Risks for the mother

• Poor prenatal care
• Pregnancy complications such as preterm labor, hypertension (including pre-eclampsia), anemia, and/or diabetes
• Depression or other mental health disorders occurring after giving birth
• Increased risk of substance use

Could this be depression, or is it the “baby blues”?

Baby Blues

• Unexplainable mood changes
• Lasts less than 2 weeks after delivery
• Generally happy feelings, with some low mood

Postpartum Depression^3,6

• Feeling sad, worthless, or hopeless
• Loss of interest or pleasure in life, hard time concentrating
• Difficulty sleeping, changes in appetite
• Thoughts of harming self or the baby
• Lasts for more than 2 weeks

What Are The Next Steps?

• Talk with a healthcare provider if there is a mental health concern during or after pregnancy. See support resources below if you need assistance finding a healthcare provider.
• Mental Health Questionnaires or “screening tools” may be used to determine if and what type of mental health condition may be occurring. 
• Treatment options can include therapy and medications, alone or in combination. It is important to compare the risks and benefits of medications to those of untreated mental illness during pregnancy. 
• Medications are often helpful, however some medications are safer than others during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Women should talk with their health care provider to determine the best treatment plan for them. See below for a link to the Mother to Baby website, which offers fact sheets on medications during pregnancy.
• Women who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant while being treated for a mental health condition should talk with their healthcare provider to closely monitor mental health changes.

Learn More About Maternal Mental Health:

• Information about mood symptoms and medications: https://mothertobaby.org  
• Maternal Mental Health Alliance: https://www.mmhla.org
• Nevada Maternal and Child Health Coalition: https://nvmch.org/ 

Maternal Mental Health Support Resources:

• Call or text 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262) to connect with counselors at the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline. 
• Postpartum Support International’s Provider Directory includes a list of providers in Nevada: https://psidirectory.com/nevada or call/text 1-800-944-4773 for assistance.

This article was adapted from the following sources:

American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists (aapp.org)
Andrea Zuloaga, PharmD, January 2020
Source Link: https://aapp.org/resource/patients/maternal-mental-health

Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance
Source Link: https://mmhla.org 

1. Untreated Psychiatric Disorder in Pregnancy: Weighing the Risks. Ment Health Clin. 2013;3(2):83-87. DOI: 10.9740/mhc.n163635.

2. MGH Health. Psychiatric Disorders During Pregnancy: Weighing the risks and benefits of pharmacologic treatment during pregnancy. [Online] MGH Center for Women’s Mental Health. Available at: https://womensmentalhealth.org/specialty-clinics/psychiatric-disorders-during-pregnancy/ 

3. Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance. Nevada Maternal Mental Health At a Glance, September 2022. Available at: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/637b72cb2e3c555fa412eaf0/t/63dd2312612e9d2b81bde75a/1675436818761/Nevada.pdf

4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pregnancy-Related Deaths: Data from Maternal Mortality Review Committees in 36 US States, 2017–2019. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternal-mortality/erase-mm/data-mmrc.html

5. American Psychiatric Association. (2017). What Is Postpartum Depression? [online] Available at: https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/postpartum-depression/what-is-postpartum-depression

6. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). 2013. American Psychiatric Association