Maternal mental health plays a critical role in shaping the overall health and well-being of mothers and their infants, and mental health conditions are an important contributor to maternal morbidity and mortality. In 2024, over one-third of people giving birth in California experienced symptoms of the most common mental health conditions, depression and anxiety. Timely and adequate care is effective in treating these conditions. Leading medical organizations such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend that health care providers screen for mental health conditions at multiple time points both during and after pregnancy to identify individuals who may need treatment.
Universal screening is a key strategy for connecting individuals to timely and adequate care.
Key findings
- Over one-third of women experience depression or anxiety symptoms during or after pregnancy.
- People giving birth in California who have depression or anxiety symptoms are three times more likely to receive mental health care if they are screened than if they are not screened.
- Only two-thirds of California women are screened for mental health conditions both during and after pregnancy.
Calls to action
- Reduce provider barriers to screening by implementing the AIM Perinatal Mental Health Conditions safety bundle in health care systems and the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) California Birthing Care Pathway for Medi-Cal providers.
- Ensure adequate insurance reimbursement for mental health screening and improve access to providers and care coordination for those with a behavioral health need.
- Support policy solutions that require mental health screening, diagnosis, and treatment in accordance with ACOG guidelines.
- Restructure health system processes in collaboration with impacted communities to ensure equitable screening for individuals who are Black or Hispanic, do not speak English, or are Medi-Cal members.
- Require monitoring of prenatal and postpartum screening and follow-up efforts by health care plans.
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.