Last fall, then-Gov. John Carney, now Wilmington’s mayor, signed a bill to replace the term “maternal depression” in a chapter of the Delaware Code with the more inclusive phrase “perinatal mood and anxiety disorder.”

Lt. Gov. Kyle Evans Gay was the primary sponsor of Senate Bill 106, introduced in May 2023 during her time as a state senator. “While increasing awareness about maternal mental health is crucial, taking care with the words we use around this issue [is] just as important,” she says. “I sponsored this legislation to recognize that perinatal mood and anxiety disorders can impact all family members, not just mothers, and to ensure that our laws are inclusive of the many different types of families who welcome newborns into their lives.”

“The term ‘perinatal mood and anxiety disorder’ better represents the full spectrum of mental health challenges that nearly 20% of pregnant and postpartum people experience.

The term “perinatal mood and anxiety disorder” better represents the full spectrum of mental health challenges that nearly 20% of pregnant and postpartum people experience, explains Malina Spirito, Ph.D., a psychologist at ChristianaCare’s Center for Women’s Emotional Wellness. “This is an example of where language matters. …When a bill is written this way, it means providers are reading it a certain way and adopting it into their everyday language, and that is then being filtered down to the patients.”

The bill also changed the state’s maternal mental health care policy, which describes how medical providers should screen patients and share treatment information. Now using gender-inclusive language, the policy specifies that screening should occur during both pregnancy and the postpartum period—not just “soon after childbirth,” as Title 16 of the Delaware Code formerly stated. Spirito believes this will increase access to support services during a crucial time in a family’s journey.

“Inclusive language really will help our community understand that we’re talking about something much broader than just depression that occurs in the postpartum period,” Spirito says. “This is going to create opportunities for greater collaboration among the medical providers and all of the support resources.”

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