Emergency Department Utilization for Postpartum Behavioral Health Problems and Assault Injury During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

ABSTRACT: Objective: Distinctive stressors facing pregnant and postpartum individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected their emergency department (ED) care-seeking for behavioral health concerns and violence victimization. We tested whether the incidence of postpartum behavioral health and assault injury ED visits differed for individuals according to their months of postpartum pandemic exposure. Methods: We used statewide, longitudinally linked hospital and ED administrative claims data from California to classify all individuals with hospital deliveries between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2020, according to their months of postpartum pandemic exposure. Outcomes comprised 12-month incidence of any ED visit for a psychiatric disorder, drug use disorder

SUBMITTER: Goldman-Mellor S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12136140 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature