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Subcommittee votes to recommend renaming 'maternal mental health' to 'maternal behavioral health'
Summary
A legislative advisory subcommittee recommended replacing the phrase “maternal mental health” with “maternal behavioral health” to broaden focus to co‑occurring substance use and other behavioral‑health needs; the motion was made by a member (Chris), seconded by Lauren, and approved by voice/raised hands with no opposition noted.
The perinatal subcommittee — convened under legislation directing the Department of Public Health to form an advisory group to study perinatal mental‑health services — voted to recommend changing the statutory and programmatic label from “maternal mental health” to “maternal behavioral health.” The motion was moved by Chris and seconded by Lauren; members indicated support by a show of hands and no members voiced opposition.
Supporters said changing the language would better capture co‑occurring substance use and other behavioral‑health conditions and allow the group’s recommendations to address a broader set of services and workforce needs. Shelley Nolan, behavioral health clinical director at the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, said the change would reflect the “multifaceted” nature of perinatal conditions and cited the need to consider co‑occurring diagnoses when shaping recommendations.
Some members urged care in how the term is operationalized. Corey Bernard, a licensed clinical social worker and perinatal mental‑health clinician with Postpartum Support International’s Connecticut chapter, said the task force itself is a practical venue to “sort that out” and to recommend whether statutory language should be changed, noting that the committee can both work within current statute and propose statutory edits to legislators.
The subcommittee agreed the recommendation will be forwarded to the full task force for consideration; if the larger body endorses it, staff and chairs indicated they would transmit the recommendation to legislative contacts for potential inclusion in future statutory revisions. No formal roll‑call vote was recorded in the transcript; approval was indicated by members’ raised hands and no recorded objections.
Next steps: the subcommittee will include this recommendation in its materials to the full task force, and staff will circulate minutes and the slide deck summarizing the group’s discussion.
