SB 263 - Under this act, all hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers that provide labor and delivery services shall provide, prior to discharge, new mothers and, if possible, new fathers and other family members information about postpartum depression, including its symptoms, treatment, and available resources. The Department of Health and Senior Services, in cooperation with the Department of Mental Health, shall provide written information that the hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers may use and shall include such information on its website. Additionally, health care providers who are providing postnatal care to new mothers until six months following the birth shall invite the woman to complete a questionnaire designed to detect the symptoms of postpartum depression or related mental health disorders and shall review the results in accordance with the formal opinions and recommendations of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Health care providers who are providing pediatric care to an infant shall invite the infant's mother to complete the questionnaire at any well-baby checkup beginning at the infant's one-month checkup until the infant is six months old and shall review the results in accordance with the formal opinions and recommendations of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, in order to ensure that the health and well-being of the infant are not compromised by undiagnosed postpartum depression or related mental health disorders in the mother. With the mother's consent, the health care provider shall share the results with the mother's primary health care provider or mental health care provider of her choice, unless the health care provider determines the mother presents an acute danger to herself, the infant, or another, in which case the mother's consent shall not be required.
Finally, current law allows certain pregnant women receiving MO HealthNet benefits to continue to be eligible for all pregnancy-related and postpartum benefits for 60 days following the last day of their pregnancy. Under this act, such women who are receiving mental health treatment for postpartum depression or related mental health conditions within 60 days of giving birth shall, subject to appropriations and federal approval, be eligible for MO HealthNet benefits for mental health services for the treatment of postpartum depression and related mental health conditions for up to twelve additional months.
SARAH HASKINS