SB0039 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB095 05070 KBJ 25139 b

95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008
SB0039

Introduced 1/31/2007, by Sen. Don Harmon

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Postpartum Mood Disorders Prevention Act. Sets out the findings of the General Assembly and the purposes of the Act. Provides that the Director of Public Health, in conjunction with the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Board of Nursing, shall work with physicians, healthcare facilities, nurses, and licensed health care workers in the State to develop policies and procedures related to the prevention, treatment, and diagnosis of postpartum mood disorders in women.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning public health.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Postpartum Mood Disorders Prevention Act.

Section 5. Findings and purposes.

(a) The General Assembly finds all of the following:

(1) Postpartum mood disorders include a wide range of emotional, psychological, and physiological reactions to childbirth, including loneliness, sadness, fatigue, low self-esteem, loss of identity, increased vulnerability, irritability, confusion, disorientation, memory impairment, agitation, and anxiety, which challenge the stamina of the new mother and impair her ability to function and care for her newborn child.

(2) Postpartum mood disorders are believed to be the result of a chemical imbalance triggered by a sudden dramatic drop in hormonal production after the birth of a child.

(3) Women at highest risk for postpartum mood disorders can be those with previous psychiatric difficulty, such as depression, anxiety or panic disorder, and those with a family member with a history of such psychiatric difficulty. However, postpartum mood disorders frequently strike without warning in women without any past emotional problems or psychiatric difficulties and with or without any complications in pregnancy.

(4) Many new mothers suffering from postpartum mood disorders require counseling and treatment, yet many do not realize that they need help or are unable to find and secure appropriate resources.

(5) In addition to the mother, the effects of postpartum mood disorders can also significantly impact the infant, as well as the father, other children, and extended family members. Maternal depression can affect the mother's ability to respond sensitively to her infant's needs and can strain the family relationships.

(b) The purpose of this Act is:

(1) to provide information to women and their families about postpartum mood disorders in order to lower the likelihood that new mothers will continue to suffer from this illness in silence; and

(2) to develop procedures for assessing women for postpartum mood disorders during prenatal and postnatal physician visits.

Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:

"Health care worker" has the meaning given to that term in the Health Care Worker Self-Referral Act.

"Hospital" has the meaning given to that term in the Hospital Licensing Act.

"Nurse" means a nurse licensed under the Nursing and Advanced Practice Nursing Act.

"Physician" means a physician licensed to practice medicine in all of its branches.

"Postnatal care" means a visit to a physician or other health care worker occurring after birth, with reference to the infant or mother.

"Prenatal care" means a visit to a physician or other health care worker occurring before birth.

Section 15. Postpartum mood disorders prevention. The Director of Public Health, in conjunction with the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Board of Nursing, shall work with physicians, healthcare facilities, nurses, and licensed health care workers in the State to develop policies and procedures to meet each of the following requirements concerning postpartum mood disorders:

(1) Physicians and other licensed health care workers providing prenatal care to women shall provide education to women and their families about postpartum mood disorders.

(2) All hospitals and other healthcare facilities in the State shall provide departing new mothers and fathers and other family members, as appropriate, with complete information about postpartum mood disorders, including its symptoms, methods of coping with the illness, and treatment resources.

(3) Physicians and other licensed health care workers providing prenatal and postnatal care to women shall assess new mothers for postpartum mood disorder symptoms at a prenatal check-up visit in the third trimester of pregnancy, prior to discharge from the hospital or other healthcare facility, and at the initial postnatal check-up visit and at each postnatal check-up visit thereafter until the infant's first birthday.

(4) Physicians and other licensed health care workers providing pediatric care to an infant shall assess the infant's mother for postpartum mood disorder symptoms at any well-baby check-up at which the mother is present prior to the infant's first birthday in order to ensure that the health and well-being of the infant are not compromised by an undiagnosed postpartum mood disorder in the mother.

(5) Physicians and other licensed health care workers providing prenatal and postnatal care to women shall include fathers and other family members, as appropriate, in both the education and treatment processes to help them better understand the nature and causes of postpartum mood disorders.

(6) For purposes of this Act, assessment shall consist of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, which the new mother shall complete upon checking in for her appointment or the infant's appointment prior to being seen by the physician or other licensed health care worker.