Dear Member of Congress:
While society has been turning its focus on the U.S. mental health crisis, the call for increased services and treatment must also include new mothers.
Maternal mental health conditions, like postpartum depression and anxiety, are the most common complications of pregnancy and childbirth, affecting 800,000 women in the US each year. Yet approximately 75% of women report going untreated. The abysmal rates of diagnosis and effective treatment contribute to making suicide and overdose the leading causes of death in the first year after a baby is born.
As a proud member of MomsRising, I urge you to vote YES on the following pieces of legislation:
- Into the Light for Maternal Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders Act to provide state funding for maternal mental health programs and for a dedicated national hotline providing 24/7 voice and text support in English and Spanish.
- The TRIUMPH for New Moms Act to help improve coordination around maternal mental health efforts including the establishment of a national task force to streamline existing programs.
- The Moms Matter Act to invest in prevention, intervention, and treatment as well as help grow and diversify the maternal mental health workforce.
- The Black Maternal Health Momnibus, a comprehensive package of bills that includes significant investments in community-based programs to diversify the maternal health workforce, provide funding for tech to address racism and biases in screening and treatment, and expand mental health treatments and supports.
We must invest in these maternal health equity lifelines that help new mothers and babies thrive.
Sincerely,