Postpartum health outcomes in Kansas

The birth of a child is a blend of anxiety and joy but it also gives rise in mothers to the baby blues a feeling of afterbirth malaise that often dissipates in a couple of weeks. A more ominous and long lasting form of this condition is referred to as postpartum depression. Prompt treatment can help moms manage the symptoms and help them bond with a baby but what if you're a low income mother in Kansas without access or limited access to counseling and health care professionals? The consequences hypertension overdose, suicide and even cardiovascular disease can be extreme. The Kansas legislature and Governor Laura Kelly have taken a step to alleviate the suffering through legislation extending the state's Medicaid postpartum coverage from two months to 12. Salym Soderholm, a mother of two who experienced postpartum depression, Sapphire Garcia-Lies of the Wichita Birth Justice Society, and Kari Rinker of the American Heart Association join the Reflector Podcast to explain postpartum illness and what the benefits of program changes to mothers babies and families are.