ARKANSAS, USA — One of the many new Arkansas laws that will go into effect next week has to deal with new mothers getting screened for depression.
Act 316 will require new mothers to be screened for depression after they give birth. It will also require that insurance companies cover the screening.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), postpartum depression will impact 1 in 8 women. Baptist Health Advanced Practice Registered Nurse and Certified Nurse Midwife, SaraBeth Askins says there is a normal transitional period after birth when women can experience the baby blues and feel down during the first few weeks because of hormone shifts and stress on the family.
“After that second week, you start to kind of get in a groove when the baby's doing a little better, your routines a little more settled, and you start feeling more like yourself. But really, when it persists more severely or beyond those initial first few weeks, we start to classify that as postpartum depression,” said Askins.
Signs of postpartum and perinatal depression are similar to regular depression—feelings of sadness, fatigue, loss of interest in things. Some postpartum-specific symptoms are disconnect with bonding with baby, guilt and shame.
“Moms feel like, you know, they see people on social media, handling it and doing well. And so they tend to mask their symptoms or avoid reporting their symptoms, because of the circle of guilt and shame surrounding a mental health diagnosis,” said Askins.
Askins says untreated depression can lead to all sorts of other health complications like heart problems, kidney, blood pressure issues and digestive problems. "Hopefully, with this law passing, it can open up doors to other types of providers to really encourage those conversations with their patients. Because the more they talk with their patients, the more we build those relationships, the more we can kind of work around that circle of shame and guilt that keeps people from reporting their symptoms,” said Askins.
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