Postpartum Depression Risk Following Exposure to Universal and Unconditional Perinatal Cash Transfers

Purpose. Postpartum depression (PPD) disproportionately affects women experiencing socioeconomic hardship. We examined the association between exposure to Rx Kids, the nation’s first universal and unconditional perinatal cash transfer program, and PPD risk among mothers of one-month-old infants. Methods. This study used Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) data collected from electronic health records of 815 one-month well-child visits between 2022 and 2025, spanning two years before and after Rx Kids implementation. Difference-in-differences analyses compared changes in depression scre