Racial and ethnic disparities in postpartum depression care among low-income women (June 2011)

Summary

The goal of this US-based study, published in Psychiatric Services, was to characterise racial-ethnic differences in mental health care utilisation associated with postpartum depression in a multi-ethnic cohort of Medicaid recipients.

Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with medical costs for some people with limited income and resources.

Findings of the study presents evidence of low rates of postpartum depression treatment initiation and continuation, indicating barriers to care among low-income mothers; racial-ethnic disparities imply additional challenges for black women and Latinas. The presence of such disparities points to the need for clinical and institutional policies and programs to address the particular barriers to mental health care faced by black women and Latinas in the months after delivery.