A recent report found that nearly every state in the United States is ignoring mothers’ access to mental health care, and experts say the situation could get worse as more states severely restrict or ban abortion. I am concerned that there is
According to a May report, all but 10 states in the United States have a high number of maternal mental health risk policies and access to care, including access to therapists, psychiatrists and mental health treatment programs. Received a D or F rating on a critical scale. report The report was published by the nonprofit Center for Maternal and Child Health Policy, in collaboration with researchers at George Washington University. This is the group’s first report to rank states on maternal mental health resources and policies.
Forty states and the District of Columbia received a D or F rating, but only one state, California, received a higher rating than a C. No state in which abortion is prohibited or severely restricted received a rating higher than D+.
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Dozens of States Ban Abortion Some providers told CNN that access was restricted a year after the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, which severely affected a mother’s mental health. Other states continue to restrict abortion, most recently the Iowa legislature passed her six-week ban, which has since been banned. temporarily suspended by a court.a A 12-week stay-at-home order went into effect in North Carolina on July 1..
“The truth is that access to mental care has been dire for a very long time in this country, especially in states where abortion is restricted,” said Colleen, chief medical officer for family planning in St. Louis. Dr. McNicholas said Missouri and the Southwest.
Most states lack professional care for pregnant and postpartum women, according to a Policy Center report. For example, only five states—California, Illinois, Louisiana, New Jersey, and Oklahoma—require obstetricians and gynecologists to conduct maternal mental health screenings during antenatal and postnatal visits, according to the George Washington University Milken Institute. Caitlin Murphy, a researcher at the Graduate School of Public Health, said. told CNN.
Data in the report show that Alabama and Mississippi—two states that banned abortion almost immediately after the Supreme Court reversed the Roe v. Wade reversal—remained in certified perinatal mental health provision relative to expected births. It is already one of the states with the lowest number of workers. Both states received an F on the report card.
About 4 million babies are born in the United States each year, and it is reported that approximately 600,000 (20%) US mothers may experience mental health problems each year. policy center. Black women are twice as likely as white women to experience a maternal mental health condition, but half as likely to receive treatment, according to the report. Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance.
“What we are seeing is that the regions with the greatest need are actually those with the fewest resources and providers available,” Murphy said.
Texas is one of 15 states with an F rating. Prior to Dobbs’ decision, Texas banned abortion. 6 weeks Gestational weeks – before many people know they are pregnant.
Elaine Cavazos, chief clinical director of Austin’s reproductive and mental health care clinic, said the abortion ban is exacerbating already poor access to reproductive and mental health care in the state. said. She told CNN that fears of being prosecuted for assisting or abetting an abortion have created barriers between patients and healthcare professionals about speaking openly about their reproductive experiences, from abortions to miscarriages in other states. said there is.
“Mental health is already a difficult issue in itself, but the added layer of ‘I can’t even talk about these things openly for fear of harming my clients’ just adds another layer of oppression. ” said Cabassos.
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, have found in ongoing research that when people are denied abortions and forced into unwanted pregnancies, their mental health suffers, and perinatal mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety, are undermined. found an increased risk of the condition.
UCSF researchers found that those who were denied abortions experienced more symptoms of anxiety and low self-esteem than those who had abortions. reversal research.
McNicholas said the ban poses significant practical and economic barriers to those who can get abortions out of state.
“Seeking an abortion in this country at this time is an incredibly disturbing moment, especially if you live in the Midwest and South, and most certainly in a prohibited state,” she said. said. “Not necessarily because I need an abortion, but because it’s very difficult to get one.”
McNicholas said she often encountered people seeking abortions because of pre-existing mental health conditions that could be exacerbated by pregnancy. This includes people recovering from addiction and those who have already experienced postpartum depression from previous pregnancies.
“Abortion has become a very important tool for them to continue dealing with mental health crises in their lives and to stay healthy and safe,” McNicholas said.
maternal and child health specialists During the move over there States with restricted abortions may have even less ability to screen and detect mothers’ mental health conditions, experts say.
Most states already have poor access to mothers’ mental health professionals. In the report card, points were assigned to states with at least 5 certified perinatal mental health providers per 1,000 births per year. Her only two states, Vermont and Montana, met this criterion. These two states are few Combined births to exceed 20,000 in 2022, according to preliminary CDC data
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The survey found that residency applications fell slightly nationally last year, but the decline was greater in states with outright abortion bans, especially in obstetrician-gynecologists. Association of American Medical Colleges.
Although there is no systematic process to measure how many women in the United States undergo maternal mental health screening and diagnosis, CDC It is estimated that more than half of pregnant women who suffer from depression go untreated.
“Healthcare workers are already pulling out of states that restrict abortion because they really feel they can’t do their job properly,” Murphy said. “They feel they are unable to provide quality care to their patients, either through counseling or to ensure that those who need to terminate their pregnancies for health reasons are able to do so. .”
Murphy told CNN that more health care providers are concerned about being held accountable for facilitating an abortion if a patient has a miscarriage, especially in the first trimester.
“This is a huge risk for mothers and babies, both in terms of mental health and general health,” Murphy said.
Experts told CNN they were most concerned about states that have enacted and may continue to ban abortion, but the mental health of mothers is poor nationwide, and bans are being banned. said it could affect patients across state borders.
Providers in abortion-accessible states are seeing a rise in patient numbers, as well as misinformation and mistrust, all of which pose barriers to care, says the Los Angeles-based nonprofit. “Mothermental Mental,” says Anna King, perinatal counselor and training director. Get healthy now.
“Providers and the community as a whole feel very impacted in terms of their ability to carry on as they have done,” King said.
