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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 
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Perinatal Mental Health Disorders Prevention and Treatment 
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Act.
 
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    Section 5. Findings and purposes. 
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    (a) The General Assembly finds all of the following:
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        (1) Perinatal mental health disorders, commonly 
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    referred to as "postpartum depression", include a wide 
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    range of emotional, psychological, and physiological 
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    reactions to childbirth, including feelings of 
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    hopelessness, excessive guilt, sustained sadness, 
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    inability to feel pleasure, low energy, sleep and appetite 
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    disturbances, difficulty concentrating, and thoughts of 
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    death or suicide, which challenge the stamina of a woman 
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    during pregnancy or after childbirth, and impair her 
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    ability to function and care for her child.
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        (2) Every year, more than 500,000 women experience the 
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    anxiety, hopelessness, desolation, and fatigue of 
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    perinatal mental health disorders during pregnancy, in the 
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    early postpartum months, and into their child's first year 
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    of life.
 


 






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        (3) Women at highest risk for perinatal mental health 
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    disorders can be those with previous mental health 
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    disorders, such as depression, anxiety or panic disorder, 
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    and those with a family member with a history of such 
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    mental health disorders.  However, perinatal mental health 
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    disorders frequently strike without warning in women 
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    without any past mental health disorders and with or 
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    without any complications in pregnancy.
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        (4) Many women suffering from perinatal mental health 
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    disorders require counseling and treatment, yet many do not 
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    realize that they need help or are unable to find and 
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    secure appropriate resources.
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        (5) In addition to the mother, the effects of perinatal 
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    mental health disorders can also significantly impact the 
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    infant, as well as the father, other children, and extended 
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    family members.  Perinatal mental health disorders can 
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    affect the mother's ability to respond sensitively to her 
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    infant's needs and can strain the family relationships.
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    (b) The purpose of this Act is:
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        (1) to provide information to women and their families 
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    about perinatal mental health disorders in order to lower 
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    the likelihood that new mothers will continue to suffer 
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    from this illness in silence;
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        (2) to develop procedures for assessing women for 
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    perinatal mental health disorders during prenatal and 
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    postnatal visits to licensed health care professionals; 
 


 






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    and
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        (3) to promote early detection of perinatal mental 
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    health disorders to promote early care and treatment and, 
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    when medically appropriate, to avoid medication.
 
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    Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
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    "Hospital" has the meaning given to that term in the 
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Hospital Licensing Act.
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    "Licensed health care professional" means a physician 
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licensed to practice medicine in all its branches, an advanced 
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practice nurse, or a physician's assistant.
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    "Postnatal care" means an office visit to a licensed health 
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care professional occurring after birth, with reference to the 
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infant or mother.
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    "Prenatal care" means an office visit to a licensed health 
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care professional for pregnancy-related care occurring before 
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birth.
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    "Questionnaire" means an assessment tool administered by a 
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licensed health care professional to detect perinatal mental 
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health disorders, such as the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression 
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Scale, the Postpartum Depression Screening Scale, the Beck 
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Depression Inventory, the Patient Health Questionnaire, or 
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other validated assessment methods.
 
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    Section 15. Perinatal mental health disorders prevention 
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and treatment. The Department of Human Services, in conjunction 
 


 






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with the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the 
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Department of Public Health, and the Department of Financial 
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and Professional Regulation and the Medical Licensing Board, 
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shall work with  hospitals and licensed health care 
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professionals in this State to develop policies, procedures, 
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information, and educational materials  to meet each of  the 
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following requirements concerning perinatal mental health  
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disorders:
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        (1) Licensed health care professionals  providing 
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    prenatal care to women  shall provide education to women 
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    and, if possible and with permission, to their families 
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    about perinatal mental health disorders.
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        (2) All hospitals that provide labor and delivery 
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    services in the State shall provide new mothers, prior to 
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    discharge following childbirth, and, if possible, shall 
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    provide fathers and other family members with complete 
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    information about perinatal mental health disorders, 
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    including its symptoms, methods of coping with the illness, 
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    and treatment resources.  The Department of Human Services 
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    shall provide written information that hospitals may use to 
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    satisfy this subsection (2).
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        (3) Licensed health care professionals providing 
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    prenatal care at a prenatal check-up visit in the third 
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    trimester of pregnancy shall invite each pregnant patient 
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    to complete a questionnaire and shall review the completed 
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    questionnaire in accordance with the formal opinions and 
 


 






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    recommendations of the American College of Obstetricians 
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    and Gynecologists.  Assessment for perinatal mental health 
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    disorders must be repeated when, in the professional 
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    judgment of the licensed health care professional, a 
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    reasonable possibility exists that the woman suffers from 
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    perinatal mental health disorders.

     
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        (4)  Licensed health care professionals providing 
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    postnatal care to women shall invite each patient to 
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    complete a questionnaire and shall review the completed 
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    questionnaire in accordance with the formal opinions and 
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    recommendations of the American College of Obstetricians 
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    and Gynecologists.
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        (5) Licensed health care professionals providing 
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    pediatric care to an infant shall invite the infant's 
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    mother to complete a questionnaire at any well-baby 
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    check-up at which the mother is present prior to the 
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    infant's first birthday, and shall review the completed 
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    questionnaire in accordance with the formal opinions and 
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    recommendations of the American College of Obstetricians 
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    and Gynecologists, in order to ensure that the health and 
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    well-being of the infant  are not compromised by an 
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    undiagnosed perinatal mental health disorder in the 
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    mother.  In order to share results from an assessment with 
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    the mother's primary licensed health care professional, 
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    consent should be obtained from the mother in accordance 
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    with the Illinois Health Insurance Portability and 
 


 






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    Accountability Act.  If the mother is determined to present 
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    an acute danger to herself or someone else, consent is not 
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    required.