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Suicide is a leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths in the United States. Now, new research shows a growth in suicidal thoughts and self-harm during and after pregnancy, with the biggest spikes amongst people who are Black, lower income, or younger.https://bit.ly/3kJEMDO 

2/ The study, published Wed. in @JAMAPsych, looked at just under 600K privately-insured people. Researchers analyzed the data to track cases of suicidality — suicidal ideation & deliberate self-harm — within a year either before or after giving birth.https://bit.ly/3kJEMDO 

3/ From 2006 to 2017, suicidality diagnoses increased from .2 percent per 100 people to .6 percent per 100. In the same period, cases of deliberate self-harm went up from .1 percent per 100 in 2006 to .2 percent per 100 in 2017.https://bit.ly/3kJEMDO 

4/ When those findings are applied to the approximately 4 million births that take place each year, that means an increase in tens of thousands of suicidal cases and intentional self-harm.https://bit.ly/3kJEMDO 

5/ Already, the United States’ rate of pregnancy-related deaths is higher than any other wealthy nation. And suicide is a major concern. According to a 2017 report by the @CDCgov, it accounted for about 6.5 percent of all pregnancy-related deaths.https://bit.ly/3kJEMDO