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| Public Act 095-0469 |
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AN ACT concerning public health.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | ||||
Perinatal Mental Health Disorders Prevention and Treatment | ||||
Act. | ||||
Section 5. Findings and purposes. | ||||
(a) The General Assembly finds all of the following: | ||||
(1) Perinatal mental health disorders, commonly | ||||
referred to as "postpartum depression", include a wide | ||||
range of emotional, psychological, and physiological | ||||
reactions to childbirth, including feelings of | ||||
hopelessness, excessive guilt, sustained sadness, | ||||
inability to feel pleasure, low energy, sleep and appetite | ||||
disturbances, difficulty concentrating, and thoughts of | ||||
death or suicide, which challenge the stamina of a woman | ||||
during pregnancy or after childbirth, and impair her | ||||
ability to function and care for her child. | ||||
(2) Every year, more than 500,000 women experience the | ||||
anxiety, hopelessness, desolation, and fatigue of | ||||
perinatal mental health disorders during pregnancy, in the | ||||
early postpartum months, and into their child's first year | ||||
of life. | ||||
(3) Women at highest risk for perinatal mental health | ||
disorders can be those with previous mental health | ||
disorders, such as depression, anxiety or panic disorder, | ||
and those with a family member with a history of such | ||
mental health disorders. However, perinatal mental health | ||
disorders frequently strike without warning in women | ||
without any past mental health disorders and with or | ||
without any complications in pregnancy. | ||
(4) Many women suffering from perinatal mental health | ||
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 perinatal | ||
mental health disorders can also significantly impact the | ||
infant, as well as the father, other children, and extended | ||
family members. Perinatal mental health disorders 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 perinatal mental health disorders in order to lower | ||
the likelihood that new mothers will continue to suffer | ||
from this illness in silence; | ||
(2) to develop procedures for assessing women for | ||
perinatal mental health disorders during prenatal and | ||
postnatal visits to licensed health care professionals; | ||
and | ||
(3) to promote early detection of perinatal mental | ||
health disorders to promote early care and treatment and, | ||
when medically appropriate, to avoid medication. | ||
Section 10. Definitions. In this Act: | ||
"Hospital" has the meaning given to that term in the | ||
Hospital Licensing Act. | ||
"Licensed health care professional" means a physician | ||
licensed to practice medicine in all its branches, an advanced | ||
practice nurse who has a collaborative agreement with a | ||
collaborating physician that authorizes care, or a physician's | ||
assistant who has been delegated authority to provide care. | ||
"Postnatal care" means an office visit to a licensed health | ||
care professional occurring after birth, with reference to the | ||
infant or mother. | ||
"Prenatal care" means an office visit to a licensed health | ||
care professional for pregnancy-related care occurring before | ||
birth. | ||
"Questionnaire" means an assessment tool administered by a | ||
licensed health care professional to detect perinatal mental | ||
health disorders, 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. | ||
Section 15. Perinatal mental health disorders prevention | ||
and treatment. The Department of Human Services, in conjunction | ||
with the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the | ||
Department of Public Health, and the Department of Financial | ||
and Professional Regulation and the Medical Licensing Board, | ||
shall work with hospitals and licensed health care | ||
professionals in this State to develop policies, procedures, | ||
information, and educational materials to meet each of the | ||
following requirements concerning perinatal mental health | ||
disorders: | ||
(1) Licensed health care professionals providing | ||
prenatal care to women shall provide education to women | ||
and, if possible and with permission, to their families | ||
about perinatal mental health disorders in accordance with | ||
the formal opinions and recommendations of the American | ||
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. | ||
(2) All hospitals that provide labor and delivery | ||
services in the State shall provide new mothers, prior to | ||
discharge following childbirth, and, if possible, shall | ||
provide fathers and other family members with complete | ||
information about perinatal mental health disorders, | ||
including its symptoms, methods of coping with the illness, | ||
and treatment resources. The Department of Human Services | ||
shall provide written information that hospitals may use to | ||
satisfy this subsection (2). | ||
(3) Licensed health care professionals providing | ||
prenatal care at a prenatal visit shall invite each | ||
pregnant patient to complete a questionnaire and shall | ||
review the completed questionnaire in accordance with the | ||
formal opinions and recommendations of the American | ||
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Assessment for | ||
perinatal mental health disorders must be repeated when, in | ||
the professional judgment of the licensed health care | ||
professional, a reasonable possibility exists that the | ||
woman suffers from perinatal mental health disorders.
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(4) Licensed health care professionals providing | ||
postnatal care to women shall invite each patient to | ||
complete a questionnaire and shall review the completed | ||
questionnaire in accordance with the formal opinions and | ||
recommendations of the American College of Obstetricians | ||
and Gynecologists. | ||
(5) Licensed health care professionals providing | ||
pediatric care to an infant shall invite the infant's | ||
mother to complete a questionnaire at any well-baby | ||
check-up at which the mother is present prior to the | ||
infant's first birthday, and shall review the completed | ||
questionnaire in accordance with the formal opinions and | ||
recommendations of the American College of Obstetricians | ||
and Gynecologists, in order to ensure that the health and | ||
well-being of the infant are not compromised by an | ||
undiagnosed perinatal mental health disorder in the | ||
mother. In order to share results from an assessment with | ||
the mother's primary licensed health care professional, | ||
consent should be obtained from the mother in accordance | ||
with the Illinois Health Insurance Portability and | ||
Accountability Act. If the mother is determined to present | ||
an acute danger to herself or someone else, consent is not | ||
required.
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