New findings from the Maternal and Infant Health Assessment provide updated data on the prevalence of depression symptoms and anxiety symptoms, receipt of mental health screening, and receipt of and barriers to treatment among birthing people in California.
Key findings
- One in three California women experience anxiety or depression symptoms during or after pregnancy.
- Previously unavailable data indicate that anxiety symptoms are more common than depression symptoms.
- Birthing people who experience stressors, such as low income, food insecurity, or worry about mistreatment due to racism have higher rates of anxiety and depression symptoms.
- Screening for mental health conditions is associated with higher rates of maternal mental health treatment. In 2020-2021, only half of Californians were screened both during and after pregnancy.
- Although providers in California are required to screen all birthing people, those at higher risk of poor mental health, such as women who are low-income, young, or Black, are less likely to be screened than are their counterparts.
- Nearly one-third of birthing people report needing help for emotional well-being or mental health concerns during or after pregnancy, and only about half of those who reported needing help received care from a doctor or mental health professional.
- The most common barriers to receiving mental health care reported by birthing people are feeling they could handle their mental health concerns on their own, being too busy, and not knowing where to go for care.
Calls to action
- Continue efforts to improve the social and economic conditions that create stress and contribute to depression and anxiety symptoms.
- Improve mental health literacy, specifically increasing knowledge about and reducing the stigma surrounding maternal mental health conditions and treatment options.
- Ensure respectful, judgment-free screening at the frequencies recommended by best practices and timely follow-up care when needed.
- Increase the numbers and types of care options and ensure adequate insurance coverage for mental health screening and treatment.
The Maternal and Infant Health Assessment (MIHA) is an annual, statewide-representative survey of California residents with a recent live birth. MIHA is a collaborative effort of the Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Division of the California Department of Public Health and the Center for Health Equity at the University of California, San Francisco. The MIHA project is supported by the California Department of Public Health using federal funds from the Title V Maternal and Child Health Block Grant and other CDPH funding sources.
Expansion and analysis of maternal mental health measures in MIHA was supported by the California Health Care Foundation.