But one potential outcome is a state legislative push to boost mental health support for new mothers.
“Becoming a mother is a profound life change, and every parent deserves support — not just during pregnancy, but in the months that follow,” Democratic Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement announcing new proposed funding to expand mental health care services for mothers of newborns.
“Postpartum depression, anxiety and other maternal mental health conditions are real medical conditions, and no mother should feel ashamed to ask for help or feel like she has to navigate this journey alone.”
Postpartum depression is common, affecting up to 1 in 7 women after they have a baby, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Common symptoms involve anxiety, mood swings and feeling overwhelmed.
More rare and potentially deadly is what Clancy’s lawyers argued that she was suffering from: postpartum psychosis, which is more severe and affects between roughly 1 and 3 women per 1,000 births. Possible symptoms include insomnia, delusions, hallucinations, mania and thoughts of self-harm or harming others, especially the newborn. Symptoms develop quickly and require immediate psychiatric help.
Healey is asking the Massachusetts legislature for $2 million to expand the state’s Welcome Family program, under which new mothers receive one free visit from a nurse with specialized maternal and child health training. The goal is to increase the number of households served each year from 3,000 to 68,000.
Several other states took action this year.
Pursuing a similar strategy to Massachusetts, Illinois enacted a law that aims to support at-home mental health screenings for all new mothers.
Other states focused on insurance coverage: Maryland enacted a law requiring the state’s Medicaid program and some other insurers to cover screenings for postpartum depression, while a new law in Virginia mandates that all insurance plans offered in the state cover maternal mental health screenings.
Other bills related to postpartum depression or psychosis were considered but failed to pass in Georgia, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma and West Virginia.
Joy Burkhard, CEO of the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health, whose mission is to close gaps in maternal mental health care, said the Clancy case is likely to fuel even more state legislation addressing postpartum mental illness.
She said states might look to Illinois, which in 2018 enacted a law recognizing postpartum illnesses like depression and psychosis to be mitigating factors in criminal sentencing. Last year the state began requiring these disorders to also be mitigating factors around parole and medical-release decisions for women who are incarcerated.
“We’re expecting quite a big influx of interest by legislators, and perhaps being approached by their constituents to take action post the trial,” Burkhard said. “Last year we had a 50% increase (in legislation). … I would expect that could grow as high as a 200% increase from last year.”