Maternal Mental Health: A Wisconsin PRAMS Perspective, 2016-2020

Full Description: Awareness of mental health issues has increased in recent years, as significant efforts to reduce stigma and connect people to support and resources are underway. Wisconsin Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) is a population-based survey of individuals who recently gave birth and collects state-specific data on maternal attitudes and experiences before, during, and shortly after pregnancy.

Data are collected first by mail and then by phone with non-responders. Questions ask about depression and anxiety, before, during, and after pregnancy. The survey also asks mothers if their health care providers screened them for depression and associated symptoms at visits prior to pregnancy, at prenatal care visits, and at postpartum visits. These data are critical to evaluate whether statewide efforts are successful in screening, which can be an important step to connecting mothers with resources to support their mental health and connect them with help when needed. There were 6,211 respondents from 2016 to 2020.

Between 2016 and 2020, reported prevalence of depression in the three months before becoming pregnant among mothers in Wisconsin increased from 15.7% to 22.0%. Over this period, non-Hispanic Black mothers were more likely to report depression (23.1%) than non-Hispanic white (18.2%), Hispanic (14.3%), and non-Hispanic mothers of other races (13.5%). Of mothers with a 2020 birth who reported a health care visit in the 12 months before getting pregnant, 65.2% were asked by if she was feeling down or depressed by a health care worker, a significant increase from 55.9% of mothers in 2016. During the same period, reported prevalence of anxiety in the three months before becoming pregnant increased from 22.7% to 32.4%. Mental health issues are associated with many factors that are captured in the PRAMS survey including significant life stressors, reported safety, and access to financial resources.
This project relates to the theme of the conference by looking at the last five years of available Wisconsin PRAMS data to assess trends in maternal mental health issues, namely depression and anxiety, as well as to assess trends in health care provider adherence to mental health screening guidelines. This work is critical to evaluate the current state of maternal mental health, with the goal of informing future action to support new mothers. By looking at data from the past five years, we can learn, adapt, and create initiatives, programs, and policies to increase access to resources, educate providers and the public, and mental health outcomes when looking to the future.

Note: While this work uses female-gendered terms such as “woman,” “women,” “mother(s),” and “she/her” pronouns, the population represented in these data also includes gender non-conforming people and transgender men who have the ability to become pregnant and give birth.

Abbreviated Description: Awareness of mental health issues has increased in recent years, as significant efforts to reduce stigma and connect people to support and resources are underway. Wisconsin Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) is a survey on maternal attitudes and experiences before, during, and shortly after pregnancy. From 2016-2020, reported prevalence of depression in the three months before becoming pregnant among mothers in Wisconsin increased from 15.7% to 22.0%. Factors associated with mental health issues are captured in the PRAMS survey including significant life stressors, reported safety, and access to financial resources. This work looks at maternal mental health with the goal of informing future action to support new mothers.

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