Gov. Maura Healey announces new actions to strengthen postpartum care, maternal mental health
Senior Digital Editor/Producer, WCVB.com
BOSTON —
Gov. Maura Healey on Tuesday announced new initiatives to strengthen postpartum care and maternal mental health support across Massachusetts. The proposal includes investing $2.25 million to expand home visits and help health care providers identify mental health concerns earlier.
The proposal includes $2 million to expand the Department of Public Health’s Welcome Family home visiting program statewide, giving every new parent access to a free postpartum home visit, and $250,000 to strengthen the Department of Mental Health’s Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program for Moms, known as MCPAP for Moms.
The funding will be included in an upcoming supplemental budget.
Healey also said the Department of Public Health will update state regulations to broaden screening for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, helping providers identify concerns earlier and connect families with care.
The Welcome Family program currently serves about 3,000 births each year. If approved, the additional funding would expand the program to all of the state’s roughly 68,000 annual births. During home visits, nurses provide newborn care guidance, screen for mental health concerns, connect families with community resources and offer follow-up support.
According to the administration, Welcome Family conducted 1,620 postpartum depression screenings in 2025. Of those, 208 people screened positive and all received referrals for services.
The proposed funding for MCPAP for Moms would support statewide tracking of postpartum psychosis data, create a clinical education team for mental health providers and expand education for families and clinicians about recognizing early warning signs and when to seek help.
The administration said the initiatives build on previous efforts to improve maternal health, including extending MassHealth postpartum coverage to 12 months, expanding access to doula services and strengthening postpartum mental health screening requirements.
Republican candidate for governor Mike Minogue called said women’s health was a “cornerstone” of his plan.
“Every woman deserves the same opportunity to receive timely, high-quality maternal and high-risk maternity care,” he said. “That’s why expanding access to maternal care is a cornerstone of my Patients’ First health care plan.”
The trial of Lindsay Clancy, a Massachusetts mother accused of strangling her three children in 2023, put a spotlight on postpartum psychosis, treatment and maternal healthcare gaps.
Clancy’s defense did not dispute that she killed the children but argued that she should not be found criminally responsible because she was in the throes of postpartum psychosis at the time.
Her trial ended in a mistrial on Sept. 4 with a hung jury.
If you or someone you know needs help, you can talk with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or sending a text message to 988, or you can chat online here.