美国国家公共电台 NPR Lawmakers Weigh Pros And Cons Of Mandatory Screening For Postpartum Depression

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

Lawmakers in California are about to start debating a bill that would make doctors screen pregnant women and new mothers for mental health problems. Many doctors do not like this idea. From member station KQED in San Francisco, April Dembosky has this story.

APRIL DEMBOSKY, BYLINE¹: Right now, a lot of doctors are afraid to screen new moms for depression.

MALINI NIJAGAL: What do you do with the answers?

MELANIE THOMAS: What do we do with the positive screen?

LAURA SIROTT: What are you going to do with these people who screen positive?

DEMBOSKY: Those are the questions doctors Malini Nijagal, Melanie Thomas and Laura Sirott are asking. Where do you send these women? Studies show that of new moms who screen positive for depression, 78 percent don't get any mental health treatment. OBGYN Laura Sirott says she's heard the range of reasons why from her patients.

SIROTT: Ooh, they don't take my insurance, or my insurance pays for three visits. I can't take time off of work to go to those visits. It's a three-month wait to get into that person.

DEMBOSKY: And Sirott says it's hard to find a psychiatrist² who is trained and willing to prescribe medication to pregnant or breastfeeding women.

SIROTT: It's very frustrating³ to ask patients about a problem and then not have any way to solve that problem.

DEMBOSKY: But moms are frustrated⁴, too. After the baby comes, no one asks about them anymore. Wendy Root Askew⁵ struggled for years to get pregnant, and when she finally did, her anxiety got worse. She couldn't stop worrying.

WENDY ROOT ASKEW: And then after I had my son, I would have these dreams where someone would come to the door, and they would knock on the door, and they would say, well, you know, we're just going to wait two weeks to see if you get to keep your baby or not. And it really impacted my ability to bond with him.

DEMBOSKY: She likes the bill because it goes beyond the mandated⁶ screening. It requires health insurance companies to help moms find a therapist.

ROOT ASKEW: Just like we have case management programs for patients who have diabetes⁷ or sleep issues or back pain, a case management program requires the insurance company to take some ownership of making sure that their patients are getting the treatment that they need to be healthy.

DEMBOSKY: Doctors still have their objections. They could be disciplined for not doing it, and screening takes time. Sometimes you ask a mom how she's sleeping, and she's in tears for the next 30 minutes. Dr. Sirott says the system isn't set up for this.

SIROTT: Currently, I get $6 for screening a patient. By the time I put it on the piece of paper and print it, it's not worth it.

DEMBOSKY: And it's not clear it's worth it to the patients either. Four other states have tried mandated screening, and a study showed it didn't result in more women getting treatment. Even with California's extra requirements on insurance companies, women could still face high copays or limits on therapy sessions. But supporters of the bill say doctors need to start somewhere. Mountain View psychiatrist Nirmaljit Dhami says screening is the first step in recognizing the full scope of the problem.

NIRMALJIT DHAMI: I often tell them that if you don't know that somebody is suicidal, it doesn't mean that their suicidality will go away, you know, if you don't ask. The risk is the same.

DEMBOSKY: The state Legislature is set to begin debate on the bill next month. For NPR News, I'm April Dembosky in San Francisco.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

3 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 askew   

adv.斜地；adj.歪斜的

参考例句：

• His glasses had been knocked askew by the blow.他的眼镜一下子被打歪了。
• Her hat was slightly askew.她的帽子戴得有点斜。

6 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

7 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。