Cuts to Medicaid hurt maternal mental health!

Dear Friend,

“Honestly I loved my baby but that love only brought grief and anxiety because I was so weak and tired I felt inadequate to give her the love and attention she deserved. I wished for death regularly.”--Katie

Katie is just like so many moms who experience mental health struggles after giving birth. And now it is mothers who stand to suffer greatly if planned budget cuts, including the gutting of Medicaid, are implemented. Especially at risk are rural communities and small towns, where almost a quarter of women of childbearing age are covered by Medicaid.[1]

Click here to honor moms during Maternal Mental Health month and tell Congress to protect investments in maternal health and perinatal mental health.

Numerous maternal mental health and maternal health programs are under threat, including the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline, which is a free 24/7 call center that serves tens of thousands of pregnant and postpartum women and their loved ones.[2] We must demand that Congress protect these lifesaving supports. Many key programs have already either been eliminated or badly cut.[3] To add insult to injury, there are efforts being made in Congress to defund Planned Parenthood clinics, which provide free and low-cost contraceptive methods, STI testing and treatment, cancer screenings like Pap smears and breast exams, and other preventive services.

This Maternal Mental Health Month stand with moms like Katie and raise your voice to protect Medicaid and invest in maternal health.

In rural communities, where rates of depression and suicide are higher than in urban areas, moms are directly in the bullseye of the proposed cuts to Medicaid.[4] Almost half of all births in rural communities are covered by Medicaid and nearly all of those births happen in hospitals.[5]

The fact is that many of these rural hospitals depend on the dollars brought in by Medicaid—nearly 200 are at risk of immediate closure if the cuts are implemented.[6] So many moms in rural communities are already living in maternity care deserts, these proposed cuts would make a bad situation even worse, and potentially dangerous, for rural moms.[7,8]

Demand that our leaders prevent devastating cuts to Medicaid and other federal programs which equal hospital closures and the destruction of maternal health and mental health programs.

We know that mental health conditions are a leading cause of preventable maternal deaths.[9] It is critical that we urge Congress to remember that maternal health, including mental health, should not be on the chopping block.

Supports for new moms and their families, like the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline and the perinatal psychiatry access line are vital. Urge Congress to protect investment in maternal health and maternal mental health!

We must do better. Families are the backbone of our communities, our economy, and our nation. Our policies should reflect that.

Together we can, and must, do better for moms, babies, families and our communities.

--Gina, Tina, Monifa, and the whole MomsRising.org & MamásConPoder Team

P.S. Did you recently give birth? Please share your postpartum experience with us.

References:

[1] Medicaid Plays A Key Role for Maternal and Infant Health in Rural Communities

[2] HHS cuts leave future of mental health, substance use hotlines uncertain

[3] Trump administration eviscerates maternal and child health programs

[4] Rural Minds Founder Has Eye On Federal Budget

[5] 10 Things to Know About Rural Hospitals

[6] Medicaid Cuts Would Threaten Rural Hospitals

[7] Nowhere to Go: Maternity Care Deserts Across the US