Harrisburg, PA – Governor Josh Shapiro’s 2025-26 budget proposal continues to invest the health of mothers and babies, and directs the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) to take action to ensure doctors and nurses can identify signs of pregnancy-related depression more quickly and speed up referrals to mental health professionals.
Postpartum depression affects one in eight mothers across the country. It not only impacts the well-being of Pennsylvania mothers, but also profoundly affects their families and communities.
Postpartum depression can occur weeks and months after childbirth, where mothers experience a broad range of symptoms including but not limited to sadness, hopelessness, anxiety, change in appetite, sleep difficulty, mood swings, and thoughts of self-harm that may make it difficult to carry out daily tasks, including caring for themselves and their babies.
Since taking office, Governor Shapiro has charged his Administration with finding ways to improve the health of mothers and babies. The Administration has prioritized using data and recommendations from the Pennsylvania Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC), feedback from a statewide survey, and regional listening sessions to develop a multi-agency Maternal Health Strategic Plan.
Doctors have voiced their support for Governor Shapiro’s efforts to provide postpartum depression screenings to all Pennsylvania mothers.
Click here to watch Dr. Priya Gopalan, Chief of Psychiatry for UPMC-Magee Womens Hospital, and click here to watch Dr. Ewurama Sackey, AHN Medical Director of the Women’s Behavioral Health Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Institute, talk about the importance of postpartum depression screenings, or read the transcripts below.
Watch Dr. Priya Gopalan, Chief of Psychiatry for UPMC-Magee Womens Hospital talk about the importance of postpartum depression screenings
Watch Dr. Priya Gopalan, Chief of Psychiatry for UPMC-Magee Womens Hospital talk about the importance of postpartum depression screenings.
TRANSCRIPT - Dr. Priya Gopalan
“Postpartum depression is incredibly, incredibly common in the state of Pennsylvania, and nationwide.
“It results in high rates of maternal morbidity and mortality.
“And it's really important because there are a lot of people who are struggling with this and have no idea what to do and are just not identified by the health care system.
“From our experience, we've had tremendous success in actually being able to screen people and get people connected to care.
“So, I think it is extraordinarily effective because we actually can then figure out who the individuals are who are suffering in silence.”
Watch Dr. Ewurama Sackey, AHN Medical Director of the Women’s Behavioral Health Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Institute, talk about the importance of postpartum depression screenings
Watch Dr. Ewurama Sackey, AHN Medical Director of the Women’s Behavioral Health Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Institute, talk about the importance of postpartum depression screenings.
TRANSCRIPT - Dr. Ewurama Sackey
“It's really important [to screen for postpartum depression] because we know that there are a lot of people who are giving birth to children, and we know that perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, as well as substance use, is the number one complication of childbirth.
“And the vast majority of people, sometimes up to 70% of people who have these issues are going undetected.
“That is such a large number. We need to be able to, first step, screen.
And we even know with screening, sometimes people are afraid to share the full information.
“By screening repeatedly, we can maybe catch someone at some point.
“And then people need to also know that on the other side, they're not going to be penalized or judged for having perinatal mood or anxiety disorders. That there are services on the other side.
“There are people who are there to support and help them and that we're not going to call child services on them.
“That is a fear that a lot of patients have.
“So, it's really important that we are trying to catch people because we know that untreated mental health illnesses can lead to a lifetime of mental health issues, as well as children potentially having developmental issues or their own mental health issues.”