REMARKS
Package of bills and resolutions on maternal mental health
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4 min
Speaker Adrienne E. Adams presents a comprehensive package of bills and resolutions aimed at addressing maternal mental health issues in New York City. This package represents the third step of the council's mental health roadmap.
- Includes five resolutions calling for state-level action on maternal mental health services and awareness
- Introduces bills to create educational materials on pregnancy loss and mental health (Introduction 651-A), conduct a public outreach campaign on mental health resources for parents (Introduction 869-A), and establish a pilot program for postpartum support groups (Introduction 898)
- Emphasizes the importance of addressing racial disparities in maternal health outcomes, particularly for Black women
Adrienne E. Adams
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Finally, we will be voting on a package of bills and resolutions to address maternal mental health, which represent the 3rd stop of the council's mental health roadmap.
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The legislation we're passing today came out of priorities outlined in my state of the city address that are aimed at addressing the mental health challenges faced by new parents and birthing people.
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The bills include providing support for individuals during postpartum which is a particularly challenging period for mothers in their health.
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The maternal health of black women and other people who can become pregnant is a matter of life and death.
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And for our women majority council, this issue is personal.
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Nationwide, and in our city.
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We are still seeing far too many women in certain communities suffer preventable complications and deaths during pregnancy and childbirth.
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Recent data revealed that black New Yorkers are six times more likely to die due to pregnancy related causes than their white counterparts.
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Too often black women have their pain and symptoms dismissed by medical professionals leading to delayed diagnosis and insufficient care.
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Addressing these longstanding inequities requires sustained focus and ongoing action and this council has been clear about the need to deliver results.
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We will continue to advance comprehensive and holistic solutions to confront this growing crisis.
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We will vote on the following resolutions sponsored by council member Linda Lee.
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Resolution 402 would call on the New York State legislature to pass and the governor to sign legislation to require health insurance plans to develop and implement a maternal mental health quality management program to promote access to affordable and comprehensive maternal mental health services.
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Resolution 403 would call upon a state legislature to pass and the governor to sign legislation mandating all accredited psychiatry residency program to offer a 1 year post residency fellowship program specifically focused on paranatal mental health.
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Resolution 404 would call him a state legislature to pass and the governor to sign.
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Legislation to require OBGYNs to conduct some maternal mental health screening during pregnancy and postpartum and to require Medicaid to cover such services.
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Resolution 405 would call upon the slate legislature to pass and the governor to sign legislation, mandating Medicaid managed care organizations to collect and report prenatal and postpartum depression screenings and follow-up data using hedges measures.
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And Resolution 406 would designate May annually as maternal mental health awareness month in the city of New York and calling on the state legislature to pass and the governor to sign s.
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156 and a dot 6603, which would make the same designation statewide.
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Next, introduction 651a, sponsored by council member Kevin Riley, would require the commission of health and mental hygiene to create materials that provide information about the effects of pregnancy loss on mental health and identify mental health resources available to individuals who have experienced pregnancy loss.
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The commissioner would be required to distribute physical copies of these materials to all facilities operated by the Department of Health And Mental Hygiene that provide reproductive health care and to post electronic copies on the department's website.
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Additionally, the commissioner must to the extent practicable informed family planning clinics within the city and hospital departments primarily providing reproductive health care about the availability of these materials and make physical copies available to them upon request.
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Introduction 869a, sponsored by council member Jennifer Gutierrez, would require the mayor's office of Community Mental Health to conduct to conduct a mental to conduct a public outreach and education campaign to raise awareness about resources available at the city state and federal level addressing mental health challenges faced by parents, including paranatal mood disorders.
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The campaign would be required to be available in the designated citywide languages.
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Finally, introduction 898, sponsored by council member Lynn Delee, would require the commissioner of health and mental hygiene to implement a 3 year pilot program to establish postpartum support groups focused on the mental health of postpartum individuals.
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The support groups would be professionally facilitated and provide access to peer support, educational materials, and resources on home visiting support lactation consultants, and other maternal health experts.
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There would need to be at least one group established in each borough, at least one group established in each of the 3 community districts with the highest rates of postpartummental health issues, and at least one group established in each of the 3 community districts facing the greatest community and geographic impacts due to social determinants of poor mental health.
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The commissioner would be required to submit to the mayor and the council and post online a report on the program, including recommendations on whether to establish a permanent postpartum support group program.
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Thank you to our staff members, Christie Dwyer, John De La Rosa, Sarah Suter, Sahara Mozami, Nicholas Cannell, Sarah Lease, and Smita Deschuk.
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Thank you very much for your attention.
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I now turn it back over to our majority leader.
