On April 22, the California State Senate passed Assembly Concurrent Resolution 105, designating May, each year, as Perinatal Depression Awareness Month. ACR 105 seeks to increase awareness and education, encourage the use of depression screening tools, and to improve the availability of effective treatment and support services, that promote maternal mental health.

Authored by Assemblymember Pedro Nava, and co-authored by 21 Assembly Members and 6 State Senators, ACR 105 was sponsored by the Junior Leagues of California State Public Affairs Committee. Its passage represents a long-term collaborative effort of the Junior Leagues SPAC and the Los Angeles County Perinatal Mental Health Task Force and its members, including LA Best Babies Network, the Los Angeles County Departments of Public Health and Mental Health and other stakeholders.

Kimberly Wong, the Task Force's chair, founded the organization so that L.A. County could collaboratively advocate on behalf of women with maternal depression. "As a survivor of severe postpartum depression, I know firsthand what it's like to experience each day and night as a cruel eternity. A week after my daughter's birth, I found myself unable to eat, sleep, or even follow my own thoughts to completion. I realized this was something very serious, although I didn't know it had a name. With the help of therapy, support groups and medication, I not only survived, but am thriving. Pregnant women and new moms should not blame themselves, nor suffer in silence."

As part of its efforts to raise awareness and increase access to mental health resources, the Task Force is spearheading a pilot program with the Maternal Depression Systems Improvement Project, at Magnolia Place Community Center. The program is designed to increase the availability of timely, affordable perinatal depression resources and treatment for low-income and immigrant women. The ultimate goal is to expand the pilot to the rest of the County.

The Task Force and the Junior Leagues also launched the public awareness campaign: "Speak Up When You're Down," and will attend a roundtable for key stakeholders hosted by the California Research Bureau on May 3rd. There will be a press conference in Sacramento with Assembly Member Nava at 11:00 a.m. On May 4th, Task Force members will testify on perinatal depression at the California Women's Legislative Caucus informational hearing that will be held in conjunction with the Assembly Health and Senate Health Committees.

Perinatal or maternal depression (clinically known as perinatal mood and anxiety disorders), strikes as many as 1 in 4 women in the U.S., from pregnancy up to the child's first year, and can take different forms, including depression, anxiety, panic disorder, and psychosis.

Although it is one of the most common complications of childbirth and pregnancy, and despite the availability of simple, highly effective screening tools, maternal depression often goes undetected. In L.A. County, 34% of women who participated in the Los Angeles Mommy and Baby Survey Project reported having depressive symptoms, yet only 3% were diagnosed with a mental health condition. LA Best Babies Network's Healthy Births Care Quality Collaborative has made screening for maternal depression a priority, and has dramatically increased screening within its clinics to rates above 80%.

Left untreated, perinatal depression can have devastating consequences for women and children, including:

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