Addressing Maternal Mortality in Medicaid by Focusing on Mental Health

Mental health issues and substance use disorder are one of the contributing factors to America’s high maternal mortality rates, in addition to poverty, racism, and lack of access to adequate health care. Last year, the CDC reported that suicide accounts for 9% of the maternal mortality rate 1 year postpartum. Anxiety, perinatal and postpartum depression, and birth-related PTSD are the most common complications of pregnancy and childbirth, affecting 1 in 5 individuals, and for those affect, 75% do not get treatment. Women of color are both more likely to experience these conditions and also also less likely to seek help.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Heather Waters, LCSW who leads the maternal health and children’s health services team at Inland Empire Health Plan, a managed care plan serving more than 1.4 million residents on Medi-Cal in California.

She tells us about a new maternal mental health program at IEHP aimed at supporting new mothers, both before they give birth and afterwards.