Even though many women experience postpartum depression and anxiety, most counties in the U.S. lack sufficient maternal mental health resources, according to a new report from The Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health.
In total, 70 percent of U.S. counties do not have enough perinatal mental health providers, prescribers and community-based organizations to meet women’s needs, the report found.
The Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health believes that five perinatal mental health providers are needed per 1,000 births in a county to ensure that mothers are able to access the support they might need postpartum.
California, Texas and Arizona are home to the three counties with the largest maternal mental health provider gaps in the country.
Los Angeles County, which has the largest gap, should have at least 495 maternal mental health providers to meet the potential need of new mothers, according to the nonprofit.
But there are only 111 providers in LA County, according to the report.
The shortage of perinatal mental health providers and the prevalence of postpartum mood and anxiety disorders means that many women are left to navigate these conditions alone.
This was the case for Tashae Lawrence, a 36-year-old mother of two from Atlanta, Ga.
After having her second daughter, Lawrence started getting heart palpitations.
The palpitations were strong enough that Lawrence went to the emergency room near her home fearing that she was having a heart attack or that she was pre-eclamptic again, like she was after she had her first daughter.
But after her fourth visit to the ER, doctors still couldn’t explain why her palpitations persisted. Lawrence wondered if what was going on in her chest was related to the deep feelings of sadness and anxiety she had been experiencing for months.
“That’s when I felt like something really wasn’t right,” she said. “This was more than just the baby blues...that’s when I started doing research about different types of postpartum [depression.]
Eventually, Lawrence was prescribed medication to treat her depression and anxiety by her primary care doctor and began seeing a therapist.
And she wishes that a health care provider would have checked in on her mental health right after she had her youngest daughter. Not just at a follow up appointment she had six weeks after delivery the baby.
“Maybe even in the hospital they could have a psychologist or a psychiatrist or a doctor or nurse ask you questions,” she said.
