Depressed mum who was 'treated like a criminal' campaigns for equal healthcare
When it comes to a new mum's mental health, all women should be given equal consideration, understanding and care.
Unfortunately for Jessica Porten, from California, she sought help for post-partum depression, and instead was "treated like a criminal".
She's now determined that other mums will not have to undergo the same horrific treatment she did.
Posting to Facebook, Porten shared that after giving birth to her second child, her follow-up OB-GYN appointment was cancelled multiple times.
At four months postpartum, she finally got an appointment. She brought her newborn, Kira, with her.
Speaking to her nurse, she reveals that she feels depressed since the baby was born:
"That I have postpartum depression 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."
The nurse "rushed through" her physical exam, "barely spoke about medication", and told Parton she needed to speak to the doctor.
Instead of being seen by the doctor, they called the police.
Parton waits for over an hour for the police to arrive to escort her to A&E.
"The cops can clearly see I’m of sound mind and that this whole thing is b***s**t, so they allow me to drive to the ER with Kira in my car while one cop drives in front of me and one follows behind."
While in the hospital, Porten was assigned a security guard, but the humiliation was far from over.
"They make me remove all of my clothes (including my flip flops, which they replaced with socks) and then take them away from me and lock them up. We missed dinner, so a nurse gives us two s****y little turkey sandwiches."
Eventually, they were seen by a social worker, who deemed that Porten was safe to go home. She was disgusted at the fact that she was not seen by a doctor at all during the ordeal, which lasted hours:
"Not once during all of this has a doctor laid eyes on me. Not once. Not even before they decided to call the cops on me.
"I leave the ER at midnight, my spirit more broken than ever, no medication, no follow up appointment, never spoke to a doctor. This was a 10 hour ordeal that I had to go through all while caring for my infant that I had with me.
"I was treated like a criminal and then discharged with nothing but a stack of xeroxed printouts with phone numbers on them."
Porten told Scary Mommy that instead of taking legal action against the OB-GYN, she is hoping to use her viral story to raise awareness for more marginalized people.
“We need to lift up our marginalized communities and make sure they are receiving the care that we ALL deserve so we can thrive as a united people.,” she said. “No woman should have to suffer in silence for fear of having her children taken away. There needs to be systems in place to treat this extremely common condition (PMD) without traumatizing families or ripping them apart.”
After being offered an array of free services in light of her traumatic experience, Porten has been encouraging those offering the services to instead share them with "mothers of colour":
"To all of you who have offered me something for free, I am calling upon each and everyone of you to find a woman of colour, and give it to her instead. Nothing would make me happier and more honoured."
Taking advantage of the platform she had been given, Porten is hoping to create some solid change.
“As far as the reaction to the post, I’m both amazed and overwhelmed,” she says. “Viral fame never lasts long and I’m scrambling trying to use this platform effectively and efficiently to enact real change.”
She is now working with the charity 2020 Mom, the nonprofit lobbying for changes to mental health services for mothers.
Porten says that her family is "happy, healthy, and safe", and she is "getting all of the help I need. The help ALL mothers deserve."