How the New National Maternal Mental Health Taskforce Will Help Moms

In the US today, one in five pregnant and postpartum women suffer from a maternal mental health disorder, but only 15 percent get the help they need. To help more parents get access to the care they need, Congress passed the TRIUMPH for New Moms Act last week as a part of its end-of-year omnibus.

The passage of the TRIUMPH for New Moms Act will require the US Department of Health and Human Services to create a new federal task force to identify barriers, coordinate resources and build upon programs to improve the well-being of mothers.

The new task force hopes to:

• Improve mental health screening rates to meet mothers where they are, so issues can be addressed sooner
• Integrate state-certified mental health peer support specialists and certified doulas into community-based organization settings
• Combat mental health care disparities faced by mothers of color
• Work with health insurance companies to cover the cost of mental health care
• Enhance federal, tribal, state and community partnerships

“Maternal Mental Health has long-standing impacts on mothers, families and society. Passage of the TRIUMPH Act ensures that it no longer falls through the cracks and is addressed head-on at the federal level, and provides critical direction to states. The time is absolutely now to address maternal mental health and we couldn’t be more pleased that Congress agrees,” said Joy Burkhard, Executive Director of 2020 Mom in a press release.

“Mental health challenges are incredibly common among new moms, and we must take additional action to address those challenges in a meaningful way,” Senator Maggie Hassan, the co-author of the Senate bill said. “Our bipartisan bill takes an important step toward supporting maternal mental health and ensuring that moms have the support that they need through every step of their journey. I’m glad that our commonsense bill was included in the government funding bill.”

If you’re struggling with your mental health, know you’re not alone. To find the support you need, reach out to loved ones or call the Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-943-5746 to speak with a trained counselor.