It’s February, and instead of preparing for Mardi Gras, we’re actually gearing up for the 2022 Louisiana Legislative Sessions! The impacts of local, state and federal policies are often broader and longer lasting than we sometimes realize, so we’re excited to utilize our expertise in community-based research and our passion for community wellness to educate legislators and advocate for policies that provide better outcomes for our community—especially moms! Last year Representative Royce Duplessis sponsored Louisiana HCR 105 to establish the Louisiana Perinatal Mental Health Task Force for the purposes of advancing education and treatment and improving services related to perinatal mental health. As the organizational co-lead for the task force, IWES hosted three task force meetings and several individual meetings to create a report that we will be releasing later this month with the goal of urging legislators to prioritize the mental health needs of birthing folk in Louisiana!

Before describing the work of the task force, we want to take a moment to clarify some terms and key concepts that are crucial to understanding it. Although perinatal and maternal can be used interchangeably, for the sake of our task force we used the term perinatal specifically to refer to the period from pregnancy to 24 months after birth. Another term you’ll see used is “perinatal mental and anxiety disorders” or “PMADs.” PMADs often go undiagnosed, yet they carry significant and critical implications for the multigenerational health of birthing people and their children over the life course – and even when there is a diagnosis, PMADs may go untreated. When left untreated, PMADs can have serious negative effects on both birthing people and their children. Some birthing people with PMADs may not be able to keep up with their medical care, their medical conditions could get worse, they could lose interpersonal and financial resources, or they could engage in unhealthy habits such as smoking and substance use. In some of the worst cases, untreated PMADs can also lead to an increased risk of suicide and/or infanticide.

Now that we have clarified some of the basics of the report we’ll share a bit about our process and what issues the task force investigated. The task force explored depression screenings, building upon last year’s Louisiana Department of Health screening guidance that allows pediatricians to be reimbursed for screening caregivers during their pediatric appointments. Task members discussed the question of whether or not to mandate screening or incentivize screening, as well as how to educate the public on the importance of screening. A lot of time was also spent researching similar programs around the country to think through how the programs could be adapted in Louisiana. At core, the task force aimed to identify barriers for patients, providers and systems, all while finding appropriate solutions to overcome these barriers.

Below are some of the findings the task force is considering:

• Integration of primary care and mental health;

• Fair and equitable reimbursement for screening, treatment, and provider collaboration;

• Specialized training for counselors and other professionals to recognize and treat maternal depression;

• Innovative interventions for depression; and,

• The impact of policy on awareness.

We are very proud of the work of the nearly forty task members and the support of our internal staff and interns. Thank you all for your time, dedication, and compassion!

Make sure you’re on our list serv to be the first to get the task force report and see how you can get involved!

The last thing we want to shout out this quarter is a virtual event we recently held in partnership with the National Birth Equity Collaborative, as well as Xavier University and Tulane University’s Student Public Health Associations. On Tuesday, January 25, we held a Maternal & Child Health (MCH) Policy and Community Engagement Panel for college students. Panelists discussed topics ranging from the John R. Lewis Voting Act, state redistricting plans, social determinants of health, policies affecting birth outcomes all the way to fibroids! The discussion received a lot of great feedback from the 75 attendees, with one attendee stating:

“After listening to the presentation I am now more aware that I need to use my voice to not only advocate health in the Black community but specifically paternal and maternal health with regard to pregnancies. In order for me to do so, medical practitioners should work alongside policy makers, governors, health officials, etc. to see true change.”

Thank you to our distinguished panel—Rep. Duplessis, Rep. London Lamar, Kameron Dawson, Randall McKee, Esq, and Dr. Veronica Gillispie-Bell—and to our student moderators, Leah Bishop and Mariama Drammeh, for making this informative event such a huge success!

To get in touch with our MCH program, please reach out to Meshawn Tarver (Siddiq) MPH, HBCE, Senior Program Manager for Maternal and Child Health.