TRIUMPH for New Moms Act Marks an Important Step in Improving Maternal Mental Health

Exciting news to ring in the new year emerged from Congress last week. Recognizing the long overdue attention needed to address the maternal mental health crisis in this country, Congress passed the TRIUMPH for New Moms Act as part of its end of the year omnibus bill.The Taskforce Recommending Improvements for Unaddressed Mental Perinatal and Postpartum Health, also known as TRIUMPH for New Moms Act, will create the first ever national Maternal Mental Health taskforce.

TRIUMPH was introduced by Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Representatives Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA-44), Larry Bucshon (R-IN-08), Young Kim (R-CA-39) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE-AL) to create a national strategy to focus on maternal mental health disorders. 

Some common mental health conditions that occur during the perinatal period (i.e., the timeframe from pregnancy through one year post-delivery) include depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, substance use disorder, among others. In the United States, 1 in 5 pregnant and postpartum women suffer from one of these conditions but only 15% receive help. The rates for women of color are even higher, with 3 out 5 suffering from a maternal mental health condition. 

“Mental health challenges are incredibly common among new moms, and we must take additional action to address those challenges in a meaningful way,” Senator Maggie Hassan, the co-author of the Senate bill said. “Our bipartisan bill takes an important step toward supporting maternal mental health and ensuring that moms have the support that they need through every step of their journey. I’m glad that our commonsense bill was included in the government funding bill.” 

The Task Force will be led by the Department of Health and Human Services with collaboration from other federal agencies to protect and address the mental health of new mothers. Major objectives of the taskforce include:  

1) review and identify existing maternal mental health programs and best practices,  

2) decrease gaps, diminish duplication of programs, and coordinate federal resources, and  

3) generate a national strategy and provide recommendations to Governors, House and Senate Committees, and other federal agencies. 

The ultimate goals of the Task Force are to: 

• Improve mental health screening rates, diagnosis, intervention, and treatment 
• Address mental health disparities faced by mothers of color 
• Write effective policymaking on maternal mental health 
• Increase peer support and community health workers 
• Improve federal, tribal, state, and community partnerships 

Curio is focused on improving the mental health of women throughout their lives, with a specific focus on improving maternal mental health and increasing access to mental health resources, support, and care. Earlier this year, Curio launched MamaLift to support women during pregnancy and following delivery through a clinically validated program of digitized neurobehavioral interventions and engaging, interactive exercises. MamaLift combines this evidence-based “accessible for all” therapy with screening support for healthcare providers and access to health coaches and therapists for women during the perinatal timeframe. Our vision is to help lift women up when they need it and we applaud those in Congress who supported the TRIUMPH for New Moms Act.