Lawmakers fund bill to create postpartum awareness materials

A new legislative effort seeks to ensure Virginian mothers do not navigate the postpartum period by themselves.

Del. Candi Mundon King, D-Prince William, introduced House Bill 2446. The bill, which passed both chambers unanimously, aims to educate the public on perinatal and postpartum depression through a statewide public awareness campaign.

Postpartum depression begins anywhere from 1-3 weeks after birth, but can occur up to a year afterward, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mothers may experience intense symptoms of sadness, anxiety and hopelessness that interfere with the ability to do daily activities.

Mothers might be less able to bond with and care for her baby, and also have thoughts of hurting themself or the baby, according to the CDC. The baby might also experience sleeping, eating and behavioral problems.

This type of depression usually requires treatment, and benefits both mother and child, but many women are unaware of the signs.

The CDC and other experts think health care providers are missing opportunities to ask women about depression. Approximately 20% of prenatal mothers are not asked if they are experiencing depression. Over half of pregnant women with depression were not treated, according to the CDC.

The bill joins others in the Virginia MOMnibus Act, a legislative package to tackle maternal health disparities across Virginia, according to Mundon King. Both parties touted improving maternal health as a top goal this session. This effort to lower maternal mortality rates is also happening at the federal level.

The Virginia Department of Health, alongside the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, or DBHDS, will create the campaign, according to the bill.

VDH will create educational materials on symptoms, risk factors and treatment options that are distributed to health care providers, hospitals and community organizations, according to the bill.

It will also develop an online resource hub to help with treatment and support, including a directory of mental health providers, information on counseling services and a forum to share postpartum experiences

The hub will make the information more accessible to those in need, according to Mundon King.

“I'm very hopeful that they will incorporate digital aspects because that will be in conjunction with the pregnancy app that Del. LeVere Bolling is working on,” Mundon King said. “We want to make sure that people get information that's easily accessible and digestible, and so I'm hopeful for that as well.”

Bolling, a Democrat representing Henrico County, introduced HB 1929 to have the VDH create a mobile application for prenatal, pregnant and postpartum individuals eligible for Medicaid, according to the bill.

The VDH will submit an annual report to the governor and the General Assembly. The report will include public engagement metrics, feedback, progress efforts, and also recommendations for how to improve the program. It will be published on the VDH website. The first report will be due Nov. 1, 2026, a timeline that was moved up by a Senate amendment.

The General Assembly included over $553,000 from the general fund in the proposed budget it sent to the governor for approval, to launch the program.

“We know that the No. 1 killer of moms in Virginia, postpartum, are mental health issues,” Mundon King said. “So I think it’s a universal issue that people want to address.”

Gov. Glenn Youngkin has until March 24 to review legislation.