40% of New Mothers are Readmitted for Mental Impairments

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The statistics from the January issue of The American Journal of Perinatology captured my undivided attention. Of 15.7 million deliveries from 2010 to 2014, 11,497 women (0.07%) were readmitted for a primary psychiatric diagnosis within 60 days postpartum, which accounts for 40% of postpartum admissions.

Suicide is a leading cause of death for pregnant and postpartum women; according to JAMA, Psychiatry and mental health professionals have seen “an unprecedented surge” during the COVID pandemic.

Maternal mental health is a public health crisis that can have devastating results. Summer Skye Stokes, a 21-year-old African American woman, lost her mother, Melanie Stokes, jumped out of a window three months after giving birth. She was a successful pharmaceutical, and her tragedy is still memorable after 20 years.

Cynthia Wachenheim, a successful Caucasian attorney, also jumped out of a window in Harlem with her baby strapped to her back because she thought she was a “bad” mother. Wachenheim died, but the baby miraculously lived, having suffered minor bruises.

Andrea Yates remains in a state mental hospital in Kerrville, Texas, for drowning her five children in a bathtub shortly after her newborn’s birth.

These tragedies placed maternal mental health on the center stage. Before them…