Dear John,

This week, we released a new theme issue on Perinatal Mental Health, Health Affairs’ second foray into the subject. Our previous theme issue on the topic was published in October 2021.

In the current issue, titled Perinatal Mental Health and Well-Being, we had the opportunity to dig deeper into some data about the trends, the high costs, and troubling outcomes of untreated mental health conditions in the prenatal and postnatal period.  

Stephanie Hall and colleagues from the University of Michigan found an almost 400 percent increase nationally in rates of PTSD in commercially insured pregnant individuals between 2008 and 2020.

Hall will discuss antidepressant prescriptions for perinatal anxiety disorders during our next virtual Journal Club on April 24.

Slawa Rokicki of Rutgers, using New Jersey data, traced the association between a parental diagnosis of prenatal depression and utilization and spending for emergency department care for infants in the postnatal year.

Costs for infant emergency department visits for mothers on Medicaid with moderate to severe symptoms of depression were almost $8,000 higher than for mothers without symptoms.

Having a second theme issue also provided us with the opportunity to look at some groups that we could not cover in the October 2021 issue.

Amy Stiffarm highlights a collaborative effort to address disparities in Indigenous tribal communities and Tova Walsh and Craig Garfield remind us that perinatal mood disorders are not limited to mothers but are also experienced by fathers who need treatment and support.

This issue also highlights some old and new modalities for treatment, looking at insurance expansions, growing use of psychotherapy, medications, implementation of psychiatry access programs to increase provider capacity, and texting for screening.

Health Affairs Branded Post:

UnitedHealthcare explores self-advocacy across the age spectrum

Michelle Martin

Sponsored by UnitedHealthcare

Ensuring The “Morning-After” Pill For Sexually Transmitted Infections Reaches Patients Who Can Benefit

Azfar D. Hossain

Paying For AI In Healthcare: Setting The Right Precedent Amidst Growing Use

Mitchell Tang et al.

The CMS Innovation Center’s Strategy To Support Person-Centered, Value-Based Specialty Care: 2024 Update

Elizabeth Fowler et al.

How Innovation In Housing Inspection Can Improve Public Health

Katharine Robb

Financing Our Future In The Pandemic Agreement And International Health Regulations

Alexandra Finch et al.

In Memoriam: Remembering The Contributions Of Jeffrey Kelman, MD

Steven M. Lieberman et al.

Future Bundled Payment Models Need To Engage Physician Group Practices

Austin S. Kilaru et al.

It’s Past Time For An Upgrade To The Medicare Hospice Benefit

Cara L. Wallace and Stephanie P. Wladkowski

A Health Podyssey: Emily Dossett and Karen Tabb Dina on Perinatal Mental Health

Health Affairs' Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil interviews Emily Dossett and Karen Tabb Dina about their roles as theme issue advisers for the April 2024 Health Affairs issue focused on perinatal mental health and well-being.

Health Affairs This Week: Behind The Pages: Perinatal Mental Health & Well-Being

Health Affairs' Kathleen Haddad and Rob Lott go behind the pages of the new April issue focusing on Perinatal Mental Health & Well-Being.

For our theme issue on Perinatal Mental Health & Well-Being, eleven authors filmed a video version of their abstracts.

These video abstracts are available with open access on the article's pages and on our YouTube channel (Please subscribe!).

Check out a selection of the video abstracts below:

• Alison Stuebe on Cultivating Vital Conditions For Perinatal Well-Being And A Sustained Commitment To Reproductive Justice
• Kara Zivin on Perinatal Mood And Anxiety Disorders Rose Among Privately Insured People
• Nancy Byatt on The Perinatal Psychiatry Access Program Model
• Craig Garfield and Tova Walsh on Father Inclusion At The Local, State, And National Levels
• Sarah Gordon on Extended Postpartum Medicaid In Colorado

Join us April 24 for our next virtual Journal Club featuring a deep dive into a paper from our new issue focused on Perinatal Mental Health.

Author Stephanie Hall will discuss antidepressant prescriptions for perinatal anxiety disorders with Laura Tollen.