Section 2110.20  Purpose

The purpose of the Perinatal Mental Health Disorders Prevention and Treatment Act and this Part is to provide information to women and their families about perinatal mental health disorders in order to lower the likelihood that new mothers will continue to suffer from this illness in silence; to develop procedures for screening for risk of perinatal mental health disorders and assessing women for perinatal mental health disorders during prenatal and postnatal visits to licensed health care professionals; to promote early detection and early treatment of perinatal mental health disorders; and, when medically appropriate, to avoid medication.