The bill that I would like to discuss in this post touches upon the problem of patient education related to mental health and the consequences of issues that often remain unnoticed (postpartum depression). The title of the bill is SB 138: Perinatal Mental Health and it was created by Lauren Book presenting the Democrats (“SB 138: Perinatal mental health,” n.d.). When it comes to the primary point outlined in the bill, the document is supposed to introduce additional requirements for the Department of Health-related to patient education focused on mental health problems during pregnancy and after the birth of a child. In particular, according to the bill, the discussed department will have to create PSAs to improve people’s knowledge concerning postpartum depression and other mental problems that may occur during pregnancy (O’Hara & McCabe, 2013).
Personally, I support the bill as it can have a positive influence on the knowledge level of people in Florida and encourage more women to seek medical help. Apart from that, it needs to be mentioned that the bill touches upon another goal – according to the proposal made by Lauren Book and her assistants, the Department of Health will also have to reconsider the process of evaluation of postpartum depression and provide clients at birth centers with easier access to educational materials related to the discussed conditions and other mental disorders during pregnancy. To me, it seems that the bill should be supported by the majority of people as proper mental health screening of pregnant women and mothers of newborn babies can prevent the number of crimes against infants caused by mental instability of their mothers. The bill is supported by the senator, her assistants, and representatives. At the same time, certain representatives of the Department of health can oppose the bill, making reference to the lack of money or other resources to implement the proposed changes.
References
O’Hara, M. W., & McCabe, J. E. (2013). Postpartum depression: Current status and future directions. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 9, 379-407.
SB 138: Perinatal mental health. (n.d.). Web.