When a new mom goes to the doctor for a postpartum checkup, the last thing she expects is to get taken away by police.
But that’s what happened to California mom Jessica Porten, who went for an appointment at her obstetrician’s office, four months after giving birth to her daughter, Kira.
During her visit, she opened up to the nurse practitioner who came into her exam room about her feelings of depression, Porten said in post on her personal Facebook page. What happened next stunned her?and led to an unsettling 10-hour-ordeal that outrageously underscores the need for much better maternal mental health care in America.
Porten wrote: “I tell her everything my husband told them when he scheduled me the appointment a week ago. That I have postpartum depression (PPD) that is manifesting in fits of anger, and I want to discuss my medication options. I tell them I have a very strong support system at home, so although I would never hurt myself or my baby, I?m having violent thoughts and I need medication and therapy to get through this. She rushed through my pelvic exam, barely spoke about medication, said she needed to talk to the doctor about my PPD, and left the room. They called the fucking cops on me.”
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