Gov. Healey calls for new investments in postpartum healthcare after Lindsay Clancy trial

The Lindsay Clancy case has put postpartum and mental healthcare in a spotlight. On Tuesday, Gov. Maura Healey announced new measures to strengthen them in Massachusetts.

Kerly Germain-Carmichael opened up about the joys and struggles of motherhood, saying she was diagnosed with anxiety and depression shortly after having her son in 2022.

"So that was something I struggled with a lot was the breastfeeding and just feeling down all the time," said Germain-Carmichael. "Like, my body was the source of food, and it was just draining all the time."

Germain-Carmichael was one of 11 moms who shared their stories with Gov. Healey as she called for new investments in postpartum healthcare.

"To every mom who has struggled with her mental health before, during, or after pregnancy, I want you to know we see you," Healey said.

First, Healey proposed a $2 million investment in a program giving each new family an at-home visit from a nurse. It currently serves about 3,000 families a year.

"There are 68,000 newborns in Massachusetts each year," said Robbie Goldstein, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. "This expansion by $2 million will let us go all across the state, every community, every delivery."

She also wants $250,000 toward a maternal mental health program and new state regulations on maternal mental health screenings.

"To bring clinicians into this process and understand how do we define this as a state, what is the postpartum period, what are the necessary supports during that postpartum period," Goldstein said.

The timing of this announcement comes as no surprise, weeks after Lindsay Clancy's high-profile murder trial that ended in a mistrial.

"Well, I think that case and that trial has certainly continued a conversation and raised the conversation nationally, internationally," Healey said.

Mike Minogue, Healey's Republican opponent in November's election, had a similar message: "Every woman deserves the same opportunity to receive timely, high-quality maternal and high-risk maternal care. That's why expanding access to maternal care is a cornerstone of my Patients' First health care plan."

For moms like Germain-Carmichael, the remedy is simple. "Find your village, whether it's a friend, a neighbor, the corner store. Everyone loves moms," she said.

All of these proposals will be part of a supplemental budget to be filed by Gov. Healey, and then it would need to be passed by the legislature.