A $15M grant program looks to improve maternal mental, behavioral health
A pregnant patient and their male partner talk to a medical professional in an exam room. SDI Productions via Getty Images
Pregnant people are at a heightened risk of developing mental health or substance use disorders, which is why the federal government is investing in a program to improve health care for new parents amid a maternal health crisis.
The U.S. has faced a worsening mental health crisis in recent years, and policymakers at every level of government are particularly concerned about its impact on pregnant people and new parents.
In fact, research shows pregnant women reported a higher prevalence of anxiety disorders compared with the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic and are at risk of developing substance use disorders during and after pregnancy. For instance, overdose deaths in pregnant and postpartum women saw a spike from 4.9 deaths per 100,000 mothers aged 35 to 44 in 2018 to 15.8 in 2021, according to the National Institutes of Health.
“I think that for a lot of years, our health care systems, including the systems for addressing mental health and substance use disorder, really didn't take into account the unique needs of specific groups [like] pregnant persons,” said Shelly Weizman, associate director of the Addiction and Public Policy Initiative at the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, a health policy think tank at the Georgetown University Law Center.
It's been a “one size fits all” approach to behavioral health and substance use disorder treatments, riddled with bias toward marginalized communities like women, particularly women of color who have higher rates of mortality compared to white women, she said.
To better address mental and behavioral health among new and expecting parents, a new $15 million federal grant program is looking to improve access to evidence-based, timely and culturally relevant intervention and treatment services, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced last week.
“The need for behavioral health support during this critical time is essential. This program creates vital support needed during the most vulnerable periods of pregnancy and postpartum and works to ensure treatment is immediate and accessible, that care transitions are seamless, and there is sustained follow-up from an expert behavioral health team,” the agency’s notice of funding opportunity stated.
The $15 million will be divided among selected state, local, tribal and territorial governments, community-based groups and health care organizations. Officials plan to award $500,000 annually to six grantees for up to five years.
The program calls for awardees to partner with pregnancy and postpartum health care organizations, such as hospitals, birthing centers or other outpatient facilities, to improve substance use disorder screening and assessment among pregnant individuals. SAMHSA also requires participants to implement culturally sensitive recovery-oriented and trauma-informed treatment programs for pregnant people.
Current health systems are often siloed, Weizman said, which puts patients at risk of dropping care or experiencing disrupted care. When it comes to pregnancy-related health, long-term and seamless mental and behavioral supports are especially crucial.
The SAMHSA grant, she said “targets this challenge … and prioritizes connections between these systems and funds the work of building those connections.”
Program participants are required to collect and report data to help SAMHSA officials gauge the efficacy of selected projects, including client-level data on health care treatment enrollment and discharge. Participants must also report data on the number of individuals screened for mental health or substance use disorder interventions and referred to those services.
“The [maternal health] system is not going to change if it’s not funded to change,” Weizman said. “This is a great example of an investment in a culture shift that is long overdue”
Applications are due Aug. 26.
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