A new bill gaining traction on Beacon Hill aims to make sure new mothers charged with crimes are evaluated for postpartum psychosis and other mental health disorders.
The law would apply to defendants who have given birth in the past year and mothers who have previously been sentenced.
Rep. Jim O’Day, representing the 14th Worcester District, and Sen. Joan Lovely, representing the Second Essex District, sponsored the legislation.
Those advocating for the bill believe a shift is necessary to prioritize treatment and compassion over punishment.
“When I experienced the first postpartum psychosis episode, I was having scary thoughts of sacrificing my son,” said Revere mother Crysal Jaramillo.
Crysal Jaramillo is among the mothers who have testified in support of the bill.
Jaramillo told Boston 25 News she endured postpartum psychosis shortly after a traumatic birth experience in 2022.
“It was very intense and very immediate and led to a situation where I almost basically unalived myself,” she said.
Paramedics rushed Jaramillo from her home to the hospital where she tried to escape.
That led to a criminal summons and a transfer to a psychiatric facility.
“It feels like an outer body experience, like a dream. I know what I was thinking in that moment, and I know I was 100 percent right,” said Jaramillo.
Jaramillo, who since founded the Cord Foundation, now sees things clearly and speaks about her journey to bring attention to the topic.
Postpartum psychosis occurs one to two times for every 1,000 live births.
That’s according to Mass General Hospital’s Center for Women’s Mental Health.
“New moms can run into issues that turn their pregnancies and then their lives upside down,” said Rep. Jim O’Day. “We have to be able to not treat this as a criminal act as much as it is a psychiatric and medical condition.”
While postpartum psychosis is rare, the conversation has been front and center since the high-profile case of South Shore mother Lindsay Clancy.
Clancy’s murder trial is scheduled for next year after investigators say she killed her three children and jumped out of window in 2023.
“I have had patients who develop postpartum psychosis and active thoughts of hurting their baby within just a few hours or days,” said Dr. Uruj Kamal Haider with UMass Chan Medical School.
Dr. Haider, medical director of Women’s Mental Health clinical services at UMass Chan Medical School, said postpartum psychosis is a true psychiatric emergency.
She said postpartum psychosis occurs in the context of bipolar disorder 70 percent of the time.
“These individuals are doing this from a place or love, and they’re not in their right mind,” added Dr. Haider. “They think they’re doing what’s best for themselves and their baby and what’s best for society.”
The legislation proposal follows a maternal health law passed last year in Massachusetts that expands screenings and mental health resources for pregnant and postpartum women.
It would make Massachusetts one of the only states in the country to put such protections into law.
The following resources are available if you or a loved one suspect postpartum psychosis:
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