LETTER: A national crisis?

In response to the Monday essay “Does the nation have a ‘mental health crisis’?” by syndicated columnist John Stossel:

The one aspect of mental health that was not mentioned was maternal mental health. Currently one in five postpartum moms suffers from depression and related perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, and one to two per 1,000 moms experience postpartum psychosis, according to Postpartum Support International. Nevada had approximately 27,188 births in 2025, which means 5,437 women had postpartum depression/perinatal mood and anxiety disorder and 54 women had postpartum psychosis (note postpartum psychosis is a medical emergency and can often end in death for the mother and/or infant).

Untreated postpartum depression and related perinatal mood and anxiety disorders cost an estimated $31,000 per mother-child pair from pregnancy through the first five years in the United States, totaling roughly $14.2 billion per annual birth cohort.

These figures indicate we do not have enough awareness, resources and practitioners to positively assist these mothers and decrease these costs. Clearly, we are having a maternal mental health crisis.