New draft law would give mothers free psychological counseling before and after giving birth

Romania's Chamber of Deputies recently approved a draft law that would have women who have recently given birth benefit from psychological counseling in state maternity hospitals. Until now, mothers could receive counseling only during the time they were hospitalized.

The initiators of the bill, members of parliament from the reformist opposition party USR, say that the current system is “insufficient because the great emotional, affective, psychological challenges appear in the first months after the birth of the baby."

The new bill makes it so mothers can receive help for several months after giving birth, and was signed by most parties in Parliament.

“In the absence of a support and counseling program for women who give birth, many mothers suffer in silence from postpartum depression and cannot afford therapy. Maternal mental health is as important as physical health, and maternal suffering can be overcome if we stop ignoring this situation,” said USR deputy Filip Havârneanu, the author of the bill, cited by HotNews.

“According to the World Health Organization, 13% of women who give birth suffer from postpartum depression. And, importantly, the thousands of little girls who became mothers much too early, sometimes even at 12 years old, will also be able to benefit from help,” he added.

The bill was initially rejected by the Senate’s commission on healthcare but will now be sent to the president for promulgation.

Recent statistics from Save the Children Romania revealed that almost half of the mothers under the age of 15 in the EU are from Romania.

(Photo source: Inara Prusakova | Dreamstime.com)