Abstract
Background. Existing literature has documented a strong relationship between parental mental illness and child maltreatment, but little is known about the prevalence of mental illness among childbearing women. In the present study, linked administrative records were used to identify the prevalence of maternal mental health (MH) disorders documented at birth and determine the associated likelihood of maltreatment reports during infancy. Materials and Methods. Vital records for California’s 2006 birth cohort were linked to hospital discharge and Child Protective Services (CPS) records. The International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) billing codes from the mother’s delivery hospitalization were used to determine diagnosed maternal MH disorders for 551,232 infants born in 2006, and reports of alleged maltreatment were documented from CPS records. Vital birth records were used to control for sociodemographic factors. Finally, the associated risk of reported maltreatment during the first year of life was examined using generalized linear models. Results. Among infants in this statewide birth cohort, 2.8% were born to a mother with a documented MH disorder, of which 41.3% had documented maternal substance abuse issues versus less than 0.5% of infants born to mothers without a diagnosed MH disorder. Further, 34.6% of infants born to mothers with a MH disorder were reported to CPS within one year, and a majority of those reports were made within the first month of life (77.2%). In contrast, among children born to mothers without a MH disorder, 4.4% were reported to CPS during infancy. After controlling for sociodemographic factors, the rate of CPS reports during infancy for infants born to mothers with a MH disorder but no substance use disorder was 2.6 times that of infants born to mothers without a MH disorder (95% CI = 2.47, 2.73). Among infants born to mothers with MH and substance use disorders, the rate of CPS reports during infancy was 5.69 times that of infants born to mothers without a MH disorder (95% CI = 5.51, 5.87). Conclusions. Administrative records provide a method for identifying infants born to mothers with MH disorders, enabling researchers to track rates over time and generate population-level data to inform policy development and improve service delivery.
Highlights
The movement to deinstitutionalize psychiatric care in the 1970s led to notable increases in pregnancy and childbirth among women with diagnosed mental health (MH) disorders [1].Whereas many mothers with MH disorders give birth to healthy infants and demonstrate appropriate parenting practices, existing research indicates that children of mothers with a history of mental illness are at heightened risk of adverse health and wellbeing outcomes, including birth abnormalities [2], low birth weight [3], preterm delivery [4,5,6], insecure parent-child bonding [7], and the transmission ofInt
Among infants in this statewide birth cohort, 2.8% were born to a mother with a documented MH disorder, of which 41.3% had documented maternal substance abuse issues versus less than 0.5% of infants born to mothers without a diagnosed MH disorder
41.3% of infants with mothers who had a MH disorder had documented maternal substance abuse versus less than 0.5% of infants born to mothers without a diagnosed MH disorder
Summary
The movement to deinstitutionalize psychiatric care in the 1970s led to notable increases in pregnancy and childbirth among women with diagnosed mental health (MH) disorders [1].Whereas many mothers with MH disorders give birth to healthy infants and demonstrate appropriate parenting practices, existing research indicates that children of mothers with a history of mental illness are at heightened risk of adverse health and wellbeing outcomes, including birth abnormalities [2], low birth weight [3], preterm delivery [4,5,6], insecure parent-child bonding [7], and the transmission ofInt. In the present study, linked administrative records were used to identify the prevalence of maternal mental health (MH) disorders documented at birth and determine the associated likelihood of maltreatment reports during infancy. Modification (ICD-9-CM) billing codes from the mother’s delivery hospitalization were used to determine diagnosed maternal MH disorders for 551,232 infants born in 2006, and reports of alleged maltreatment were documented from CPS records. Among infants in this statewide birth cohort, 2.8% were born to a mother with a documented MH disorder, of which 41.3% had documented maternal substance abuse issues versus less than 0.5% of infants born to mothers without a diagnosed MH disorder. Among children born to mothers without a MH disorder, 4.4% were reported to CPS during infancy. After controlling for sociodemographic factors, the rate of CPS reports during infancy for infants born to mothers with a MH disorder but no substance use disorder was
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