SLS 23RS-1891 ORIGINAL
2023 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 136
BY SENATOR BOUDREAUX
HEALTH DEPARTMENT. Urges and requests the Louisiana Department of Health to
assist in the development of a public service campaign to foster awareness and education on
perinatal mental health care.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to assist in the development of a
3 public service campaign to foster awareness and education on perinatal mental health
4 care.
5 WHEREAS, more women die in the United States from complications of pregnancy
6 and childbirth than in any other developed country in the world, with an average of three
7 women dying each day in 2021; and
8 WHEREAS, according to a 2023 report from the Centers for Disease Control and
9 Prevention, the number of women in the United States dying from maternal causes almost
10 doubled between 2018 and 2021, from six hundred fifty-eight deaths in 2018 to over one
11 thousand two hundred deaths in 2021; and
12 WHEREAS, black women in the United States are disproportionately impacted by
13 complications from pregnancy and childbirth, being more than two and a half times more
14 likely to die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth in 2021 as compared to white
15 women; and
16 WHEREAS, mental health problems are the most common complication of
17 pregnancy, affecting up to one in five women in the perinatal period, and as many as two in
18 five women who are low income or persons of color; and
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SLS 23RS-1891 ORIGINAL
1 WHEREAS, in 2021, mental health-related conditions, namely suicide and overdose,
2 were the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths in the United States; and
3 WHEREAS, according to the 2017-19 Louisiana Pregnancy-Associated Mortality
4 Review Report released in August 2022, the overall leading cause of pregnancy-associated
5 deaths was accidental overdose, accounting for seventeen percent of the deaths that occurred
6 during pregnancy or within one year of the end of the pregnancy; and
7 WHEREAS, mental health and substance use disorders during pregnancy and in the
8 postpartum period often go unidentified and studies suggest that less than fifty percent of
9 women with perinatal mental health problems are identified by their frontline physician; and
10 WHEREAS, women identified as experiencing perinatal mental health symptoms
11 often do not receive treatment, with as many as seventy-five percent of women experiencing
12 perinatal mental health symptoms going untreated; and
13 WHEREAS, despite the prevalence and risks, there is a lack of awareness of perinatal
14 mental health and substance use disorders among family members, the public, and providers,
15 and many mothers feel reluctant to report symptoms and concerns; and
16 WHEREAS, stigma has been seen as one of the leading barriers to accessing care
17 and, as a result of stigma, fewer individuals seek treatment; and
18 WHEREAS, the mental health of women before, during, and after childbirth is an
19 issue of great concern to those affected, their families, and their physicians; and
20 WHEREAS, when left untreated, mental health and substance use disorders in
21 pregnancy and postpartum period can have serious medical, societal, and economic
22 consequences; and
23 WHEREAS, children born to mothers with untreated mental health and substance use
24 disorders are at increased risk for serious health, developmental, or behavioral conditions,
25 which can affect their overall development and growth; and
26 WHEREAS, mental health and substance use disorders in pregnancy and the
27 postpartum period are treatable, and better treatment outcomes are realized with early
28 identification and intervention; and
29 WHEREAS, all of Louisiana has been designated as a mental health professional
30 shortage area by the federal Human Resources and Services Administration and there is a
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SLS 23RS-1891 ORIGINAL
1 scarcity of mental health professionals available in Louisiana, especially psychiatrists, to
2 treat perinatal mental health and substance use disorders; and
3 WHEREAS, primary care providers and mental health professionals often lack
4 training in addressing the mental health needs of pregnant and postpartum women; and
5 WHEREAS, addressing perinatal mental health concerns has been identified as a
6 critical need by the Louisiana Department of Health, the Louisiana Commission on Perinatal
7 Care and the Prevention of Infant Mortality, the Louisiana Pregnancy-Associated Mortality
8 Review, the Louisiana Pritzker Children's Initiative, and various other commissions,
9 councils, and advisory boards in Louisiana; and
10 WHEREAS, in its 2017-19 Louisiana Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review
11 Report, the Louisiana Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review Committee identified the
12 following areas in its list of priorities for prevention of pregnancy-related and
13 pregnancy-associated deaths: improve care coordination before, during, and after pregnancy;
14 improve and expand identification and treatment for substance use and mental health during
15 pregnancy; and ensure pregnant women receive the appropriate level of care based on their
16 medical issues and risk factors; and
17 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Perinatal Mental Health Task Force, as enacted by House
18 Concurrent Resolution No. 105 of the 2021 Louisiana Regular Legislative Session,
19 recognized in its policy brief that while Louisiana has implemented key policy changes,
20 program, and initiatives that have created forward momentum toward improving mental
21 health outcomes for pregnant and postpartum women, more concerted policy and
22 programmatic efforts are needed to sustain current efforts and to address system gaps and
23 deep-rooted inequities in the healthcare structures; and
24 WHEREAS, Louisiana has implemented key policy changes that positively impact
25 pregnant and postpartum women, including the extension of postpartum Medicaid coverage
26 for twelve months after delivery, Medicaid reimbursement for caregiver depression
27 screenings conducted during well-child visits, and the passage of Act No. 188, the Perinatal
28 Mood and Anxiety Disorders Act, in the 2022 Louisiana Regular Legislative Session, which
29 provides for information sharing by hospitals and birthing centers, perinatal mood disorder
30 screening, mental health treatment, and collaborative care; and
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1 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Perinatal Mental Health Task Force, as enacted by House
2 Concurrent Resolution No. 105 in the 2021 Legislative Session, made the priority
3 recommendation to expand mental health access for pregnant and postpartum women by
4 promoting and investing long-term in a provider-to-provider mental health consultation and
5 training program that builds the capacity of healthcare providers across the state to respond
6 to the mental health needs of pregnant and postpartum women; and
7 WHEREAS, the federal Health Resources and Services Administration recognized
8 the need and opportunity for the development of a mental health access program in
9 Louisiana and provided funding to Louisiana Department of Health, office of public health,
10 bureau of family health to develop a statewide provider-to-provider mental health
11 consultation program that provides guidance, education, and care coordination support to
12 perinatal and pediatric healthcare providers.
13 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
14 does hereby urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to assist in the
15 development of a public service campaign to foster awareness and education on perinatal
16 mental health care.
17 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana does
18 hereby encourage mental healthcare providers and healthcare providers who provide care
19 to pregnant and postpartum women to attend continuing education courses on perinatal
20 mental health care.
21 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana does
22 hereby express support for a statewide mental health consultation program that uses
23 provider-to-provider consultation, education, and resource and referral support to enhance
24 the capacity of frontline healthcare providers to identify, diagnose, treat, and refer pregnant
25 and postpartum women with mental health or substance use concerns.
26 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana does
27 hereby urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to identify and seek long-term,
28 sustainable sources of funding for a statewide mental health consultation program.
29 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
30 Louisiana Department of Health.
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SLS 23RS-1891 ORIGINAL
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Brandi Cannon.
DIGEST
SR 136 Original 2023 Regular Session Boudreaux
Requests the La. Dept. of Health to assist in the development of a public service campaign
to foster awareness and education on perinatal mental health care.
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