Reply #4: Interesting you should bring this up...

[Ilsa]

I was informed recently that our Texas legislature has passed a new law requiring hospitals, OB/GYN's, birthing centers, etc to give out postpartum depression resource information to new mothers, calling it the Andrea Yates bill.

If memory serves, ANdrea Yates didn't kill her children because her OB didn't refer her; she killed her children after her mental health provider lost his appeals to her insurance company for continued hospitalization and aggressive in-patient treatment and she was sent home mentally ill and delusional.

Our "leg" is barking up the wrong tree, IMO. They need to be fighting for medical parity for mental health, not imposing another paperwork burden upon the "primary" health care for these women. My experience has been that OB's are acutely aware of PPD issues, and many estimate that they discuss the issues with 90-95% of their new moms and make appropriate referrals, it is so prevalent.

BTW, we are losing funding for psych meds for parolees, like that makes any sense. I can only hope they end up urinating and singing songs about 666 in the backyard of our Leg members.

Locally, a MHMR center was shut down in the next county, and our local staff was reduced by 25%. This can only come back to bite us in the butt later.