What's happening
This bill requires maternal health care providers to offer depression screenings to pregnant and postpartum women and refer them for treatment if needed.
Why it matters
Expands the role of maternal health providers. by requiring not just OB/GYNs, but also pediatricians and other providers who see mothers during their child’s first year, to screen for depression—helping catch cases that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Mandates use of validated screening tools. (such as the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale or Patient Health Questionnaire), ensuring that depression assessments are consistent, evidence-based, and aligned with national standards rather than left to subjective judgment.
Respects patient autonomy and privacy. by requiring maternal consent before sharing screening results, except in situations where there's a risk of harm, balancing important health interventions with the need to protect sensitive information.
Aims to close critical gaps in maternal mental health care. by making referrals or treatment a standard part of prenatal, postnatal, and pediatric visits—potentially leading to earlier intervention, better outcomes for mothers, and positive impacts on child development and family well-being.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Screen Moms for Depression
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to health
- Notice of committee consideration - withdrawn
- Notice of committee consideration - requested
- Referred to health
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1319
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 9, 2017
Introduced by Sen. PERSAUD -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to maternal depression screenings
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 2500-k of the public health law is amended by adding a new paragraph (c) to read as follows:
(c) "Questionnaire" means an assessment tool administered by a maternal health care provider or their agent, to detect maternal depression such as the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, the Postpartum Depression Screening Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Patient Health Questionnaire, or other validated assessment methods as approved by the commissioner.
§ 2. Subdivision 3 of section 2500-k of the public health law is renumbered subdivision 4 and a new subdivision 3 is added to read as follows:
3. Maternal depression screenings. (a) Maternal health care providers providing prenatal care shall at a prenatal visit offer each pregnant patient a questionnaire for the purpose of screening the patient for depression in accordance with national standards. The maternal health care provider shall provide treatment or refer when appropriate, in accordance with national standards, any woman who test positive on the questionnaire and who consents to such treatment or referral.
(b) Maternal health providers providing postnatal care to women shall themselves or through their agents offer a questionnaire for the purpose of screening the woman for depression. The maternal health care provider shall provide treatment or refer when appropriate, in accordance with national standards, any woman who tests positive on the questionnaire and who consents to such treatment or referral.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02138-01-7
S. 1319 2
(c) Maternal health care providers providing pediatric care to an infant shall themselves or through their agents offer the infant's mother a questionnaire at any well-child check-up at which the mother is present prior to the infant's first birthday. Maternal health care providers shall provide treatment or refer when appropriate in accordance with national standards, any woman who tests positive on the questionnaire and who consents to such treatment or referral.
(d) Consent from the mother must be obtained before disclosing the results of the assessment unless the mother is determined to present a danger to herself or others or unless otherwise authorized by applicable law or regulations.
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law; provided, however, that effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed by the commissioner of health on or before such effective date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to maternal depression screenings
Purpose or general idea of bill
Requires maternal health care providers to screen new mothers for maternal depression while providing prenatal, postnatal, and pediatric care
Summary of specific provisions
Section one of this bill amends subdivision 1 of section 2500-k of the public health law to define "questionnaire" for the purposes of this section as an assessment tool administered by a maternal health care provider or their agent to detect maternal depression.
Section two of this bill amends subdivision 3 of section 2500-k of the public health law to require maternal health care providers providing prenatal care, postnatal care, and pediatric care to screen the mother for maternal depression by inviting her to fill out a questionnaire that will help detect maternal depression. "Maternal health care providers" are already defined in the public health law as a physician, midwife, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant attending a pregnant woman or a woman or her child up to one year after childbirth. This section also requires consent be obtained from the mother before the mother's results of the questionnaire may be shared with the mother's primary health care professional.
Section three provides the effective date.
Justification
Maternal depression, also known as "post-partum" depression or "baby blues" is a set of serious mental health conditions that can affect women during pregnancy and after the birth of a child. Maternal Depression can lead to significant negative consequences for those affected and their children and families. Mothers experiencing maternal depression can have trouble caring for their new baby, be unable to work or look for work, and may even harm themselves or their babies. This depression can also negatively impact the essential growth and development of families and young children.
Currently there are several accepted screening tools to allow healthcare providers who are already seeing pregnant women or new mothers to detect maternal depression.
Hospitals are already required to provide "maternity care" including education on maternal depression screening referrals during the first 48 hours after the birth of a child (or up to 96 hours for a caesarian section). Although a new mother may be seen by a health professional at her 6 week post-birth checkup and her annual checkup, maternal depression could arise at any point between these visits. However, there are regular checkups for well-baby visits for the newborn that the mother would attend. These are excellent opportunities for the health care professional who is caring for the child to also check on the mother's mental health.
The United States Preventative Services Taskforce recently recommended screenings were an effective tool to detect and treat depression. In addition, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that pediatricians screen mothers for post-partum depression at the 1 month, 2 month and 4 month well-baby visits. This bill seeks to increase the screening of new mothers for maternal depression by providing screenings for mothers not just at their pre and post-partum checkups, but also at the pediatric checkups of their newly born children. This will help health care professionals better detect, treat and refer patients suffering from maternal depression to get appropriate care.
Prior legislative history
New bill
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This bill shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.