By Heather Anne Harmon, MPH, May 13, 2020, Women's Mental Health.
A recently published article in the American Journal of Public Health has attributed a substantial financial cost to untreated perinatal mood and anxiety disorders among mothers. The study, conducted by researchers with the think tank and public policy firm Mathematica, found that the cost of untreated perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) for the 2017 birth cohort totalled $14 billion USD, with an average cost of $31,800 per mother-child pair with postpartum illness.
The researchers used a cost-of-illness model to consider the major sources of costs related to perinatal mood and anxiety disorders among persons giving birth in 2017. First, the researchers considered the effects of PMAD on labor force participation and reduced maternal productivity. Second, the model included the economic effect of increased use of safety net services, including Medicaid, among those with untreated PMADs. And finally, the worsened maternal and child health outcomes associated with untreated PMADs were accounted for. While not exhaustive, this model allowed researchers to consider a range of costs, from the individual costs of suboptimal breastfeeding to the societal cost of maternal suicide.
Luca, D. L., Margiotta, C., Staatz, C., Garlow, E., Christensen, A., & Zivin, K. (2020). Financial Toll of Untreated Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders Among 2017 Births in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, (0), e1-e9. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32298167
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