Skip to content
CapRadio

CapRadio

signal status listen live donate
listen live donate signal status
listen live donate signal status
  • News
    • topics
    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
  • Music
    • genres
    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic
    • Daily Playlist
  • Programs + Podcasts
    • news
    • Morning Edition
    • All Things Considered
    • Marketplace
    • Insight With Vicki Gonzalez
    • music
    • Acid Jazz
    • At the Opera
    • Classical Music
    • Connections
    • Excellence in Jazz
    • Hey, Listen!
    • K-ZAP on CapRadio
    • Mick Martin's Blues Party
    • Programs A-Z
    • Podcast Directory
  • Schedules
    • News
    • Music
    • ClassicalStream
    • JazzStream
    • Weekly Schedule
    • Daily Playlist
  • Community
    • Events Calendar
    • CapRadio Garden
    • CapRadio Reads
    • Ticket Giveaways
  • Support
    • Evergreen Gift
    • One-Time Gift
    • Corporate Support
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Gift
    • Legacy Gift
    • Endowment Gift
    • Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • e‑Newsletter
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Close Menu
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
  • Health Care
  •  

Maternal Mental Health Issues Affect One In Five New Moms. These California Bills Could Point Them To Treatment

  •  Sammy Caiola 
Friday, September 21, 2018 | Sacramento, CA
Listen
/
Update RequiredTo play audio, update browser or Flash plugin.
Sarah Perry / Sarah J Photography

Crystal McAuley poses with her husband, Simon McAuley, and their sons. The Napa mom says she experienced depression and anxiety during and after her pregancies, but found help after her doctor screened her for maternal mental health disorders.

Sarah Perry / Sarah J Photography

Crystal McAuley, a 36-year-old mother from Napa, said she powered through the anxiety and depression she felt around her first pregnancy in 2014. It wasn’t until her second son was born that she became overwhelmed.

“It is often described as this magical, happy time where women are just in love with their babies and in love with their new lives,” she said. “If you’re not feeling that 110 percent — and on top of that you’re exhausted, you feel guilty, you’re having a hard time taking care of yourself — it makes you really want to hide.”

So she did. She stopped going out or seeing friends, and said being away from her children felt “excruciating.”

“The best way I can describe the anxiety mentally was like being in a car driving down the highway at a very good clip of speed, probably faster than you should be going, and realizing the breaks are out, all day, every day,” she said.

California advocates want doctors to be more vigilant about spotting the problem and guiding mothers toward help. Bills on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk could require some providers to screen moms for these disorders. Hospitals and other facilities offering deliveries would also have to educate staff about the issue.

If left untreated, maternal mental health challenges such as depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress can lead new moms to take their own lives, or in rare cases, their children’s lives.

Roughly one in five expectant mothers will receive such a diagnosis either before giving birth or within one year of delivery, according to the California Task Force on the Status of Maternal Mental Health.

Maternal mental health disorders can affect any woman, but research shows it’s more likely to happen to moms living in poverty and those who have a history of depression or other mental illness. Consequences include early delivery or other adverse birth outcomes, poor infant growth and childhood emotional and behavioral problems. Women who lose their babies to stillbirth or miscarriage may also be at risk.

Dr. Shannon Clark, an OBGYN at the UC Davis Medical Center, said screening is important because some moms are reluctant to talk to providers about it. They don’t want to be seen as unfit mothers.

“They think if they bring it up, there’s going to be an assumption,” she said.

But on a screening they can talk about signs, like ‘‘ ‘I feel more anxious than I usually feel’ or ‘I’ve been crying for no apparent reason’ …. These are just general questions that can open the conversation,” Clark said.

McAuley said it wasn’t until her doctor screened her for postpartum depression and connected her to therapy that she started to feel better. She eased her way into work as a maternal mental health advocate. And she joined a few social groups with other moms.

“The day that I felt what I can best describe as a crack in whatever was surrounding me and holding me and keeping me captive was after I had really gotten myself out and reconnected and resocialized,” she said. “I really didn’t realize how much social interaction really can lift you up.”

The governor already signed a bill this summer requiring the California Department of Public Health to apply for federal funding for a maternal mental health campaign, and the state legislature recently approved a resolution making May an awareness month for postpartum depression and related disorders.


Follow us for more stories like this

CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you.  As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.

Donate Today  

Andrew Nixon / CapRadio

Sammy Caiola

Former Healthcare Reporter

Sammy Caiola has been covering medical breakthroughs, fitness fads and health policy in California since 2014. Before joining CapRadio, Sammy was a health reporter at The Sacramento Bee.  Read Full Bio 

 @sammycaiola Email Sammy Caiola

Coronavirus Newsletter

Get answers to your questions, the latest updates and easy access to the resources you need, delivered to your inbox.

 

Want to know what to expect? Here's a recent newsletter.

Thanks for subscribing!

We'll send you weekly emails so you can stay informed about the coronavirus in California.

Browse all newsletters

More Health Care Stories

AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File

Sacramento-area schools seeing rise in COVID-19 cases, but don’t plan to require masks again

May 17, 2022

Scott Olson/Getty Images

FDA authorizes first COVID booster for children ages 5 to 11

May 17, 2022

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

The federal government is offering another round of free COVID tests

May 16, 2022

Most Viewed

Top California Democrats in a stalemate over gas rebates

'SNL' sends off longtime cast members

U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla will appear on California’s June primary ballot twice. Here’s why.

1 killed, 8 wounded in shooting at Southern California party

Dear Life Kit: Is a recital really more important than my wedding?

We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter

Most Viewed

Top California Democrats in a stalemate over gas rebates

'SNL' sends off longtime cast members

U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla will appear on California’s June primary ballot twice. Here’s why.

1 killed, 8 wounded in shooting at Southern California party

Dear Life Kit: Is a recital really more important than my wedding?

Back to Top

  • CapRadio

    7055 Folsom Boulevard
    Sacramento, CA 95826-2625

    • (916) 278-8900
    • Toll-free (877) 480-5900
    • Email Us
    • Submit a News Tip
  • Contact Us

  • About Us

    • Contact Us / Feedback
    • Coverage
    • Directions
    • Careers & Internships
    • Mission / Vision / Core Values
    • Press
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
  • Listening Options

    • Mobile App
    • On Air Schedules
    • Smart Speakers
    • Playlist
    • Podcasts
    • RSS
  • Connect With Us

    •  Facebook
    •  Twitter
    •  Instagram
    •  YouTube
  • Donate

  • Listen

  • Newsletters

CapRadio stations are licensed to California State University, Sacramento. © 2022, Capital Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Website Feedback FCC Public Files: KXJZ KKTO KUOP KQNC KXPR KXSR KXJS. For assistance accessing our public files, please call 916-278-8900 or email us.