The Latest Research, Commentary, And News From Health Affairs
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
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Racism & Perinatal Mental Health
In the October issue of Health Affairs, two papers look explicitly at the intersection of perinatal mental health and broader, systemically racist social systems.
It is well documented that racial disparities exist in perinatal mental health care. Black women experience a higher prevalence of maternal mental health conditions, particularly postpartum depression and anxiety, relative to the US population as a whole. Furthermore, maternal mental health issues among Black women are largely underreported, and symptoms often go unaddressed.
For one paper from the Perinatal Mental Health & More issue, Kay Matthews and coauthors interviewed Black maternal and infant mental health stakeholders. The authors identify key pathways to advance equitable and antiracist maternal mental
health care.
“Reimagining the maternal mental health care landscape is essential to addressing the Black maternal health crisis,” they conclude.
In a commentary, Vu-An Foster and coauthors present an alternative vision for perinatal mental health that connects health and
broader social systems.
They describe policy changes needed to address the effects of racism, poverty, lack of child care, inadequate postpartum support, and other types of structural violence on health. These changes include diversifying the perinatal health workforce, universally expanding insurance coverage, providing universal paid leave and universal childcare, and more.
Today on Health Affairs Blog, Sophie Wheelock and Mark Zezza discuss a provision in the American Rescue Plan Act that extends postpartum Medicaid coverage from 60 days to one year.
As part of a blog series on value assessment, Amol Navathe and coauthors call on the health care community to set an explicit intention to use payment as a way to eradicate inequities.
Rachael Fleurence and coauthors discuss how rapid at-home COVID-19 tests could play an important role in the next phase of
the pandemic in the United States.
Alison Connor and coauthors further the conversation by arguing that access to COVID-19 testing in low- and middle-income countries is critical to achieving health equity.
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Sara Kornfield On Postpartum Depression, Mental Health, And Mother-Infant Bonding During COVID-19
Listen to Health Affairs Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil interview Sara Kornfield, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, on the relationship between COVID-19, postpartum depression, and mother-infant bonding.
Health Affairs is the leading peer-reviewedjournalat the intersection of
health, health care, and policy. Published monthly by Project HOPE, the journal is available in print and online. Late-breaking content is also found through healthaffairs.org, Health Affairs Today, and Health Affairs Sunday Update.
Project HOPE is a global health and humanitarian relief organization that places power in the hands of local health care workers to save lives across the globe. Project HOPE has published Health Affairs since 1981.
