Does Postpartum Depression Qualify For Disability

Can My Pregnancy Qualify Me For Disability Benefits

Little Lambs in Evansville is an organization dedicated to providing care and assistance to new parents and infants that otherwise would have nothing. They strive to encourage new parents through opportunities and gifts provided by the community. Their hope is that through the charity they might be able to educate parents of the mental and physical needs of infants so that all children in the community will have the opportunity to grow up with optimal care.

Pregnancy can be a stressful time for soon-to-be parents emotionally, physically, and mentally. Some pregnancies dont go quite as smooth as others. Some require extra care, bed rest, and, in some cases, extra time off work. If you are currently experiencing disabilities from your pregnancy, or you are suffering postpartum depression after giving birth, you may qualify for Social Security disability benefits.

Filing An Appeal When Necessary

Many disability claims receive a denial at first, but this is not the end of the road for you. The procedures for an appeal depend on whether you have an employer-sponsored group policy under ERISA or an individual policy, and we can follow the proper process to timely and comprehensively appeal your claim. Know there are strict deadlines that apply in either situation, so if you already received a denial, do not wait to contact our disability lawyers today. We help clients with a wide range of disabilities, including those relating to pregnancy or childbirth.

Disability Insurance Features To Consider If Youre Planning On Becoming Pregnant

When applying for long-term disability insurance, there are some general policy features and provisions you should think about when looking for the perfect policy. These provisions are important to everyone, but they could be specifically useful if youâre buying a policy because youâre worried about complications in future pregnancies

• Own-occupation â An own-occupation policy is one that says youâll get benefits if you canât do your normal job. That means youâll still be paid disability insurance benefits if youâre able to do other work. Learn more about own-occupation policies.

• Non-cancelable â This means the insurer canât raise your rates. Since raising policy rates is rare, itâs usually not something you need to worry about, but if your policy doesnât have this provision then we recommend adding it.

• Residual benefits â If youâre able to work but not at the same rate as before â either your hours are cut short or your income is less â a policy with residual benefits will provide a partial payout.

• Guaranteed Renewable â The insurer cannot cancel your policy as long as youâre paying for it.

Itâs also important, if youâre planning to become pregnant, to choose a policy that will protect your financial future.

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Disability Benefits For Mental Illness

Disability Benefits for Mental Illness. More than half of Americans can expect to have at least one diagnosable mental disorder in their lifetime, and nearly 20% of adults will have a period of disability caused by a mental disorder in a given year.

Mental illnesses can be just as debilitating as physical disabilities, leaving people unable to work efficiently, if at all. The government offers financial assistance to all such individuals to ensurethat they get the care they need.

If youve been diagnosed with a mental illness recently, you may wish to know whether you qualify for disability benefits for mental illness.

The basic criteria for Social Security disability eligibility are that a medical practitioner must formally diagnose your condition and that your disability must be expected to last at least 12 months.

There are other conditions regarding SSDI and SSI for mental illness as well, all of which weve covered below.

Can I Take Leave For Ppd

Probably. If you have FMLA or pregnancy disability leave left, you can use it for PPD. But even if your regular maternity leave is over, you probably are entitled to additional leave if it is not an undue hardship to your employer.

Whether leave would pose undue hardship is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The EEOC has issued guidance on factors to consider in whether a leave poses an undue hardship, including:

• The length of leave requested
• The frequency of leave
• The impact on co-workers
• The impact on ability to serve customers/clients in a timely manner
• The size of the employer.

In general, it is less of a burden if you request a shorter leave, rather than a longer one. This is less disruptive to the employer and co-workers. Similarly, a larger employer should be able to accommodate additional leave more easily than a smaller employer. These are just generalizations, however, and are no substitute for advice about your specific situation.

You can learn more about what happens when you run out of FMLA/CFRA leave here.

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What Is My Insurance Company Looking For

As with any type of long-term disability claim, your insurance company is looking for proof that you are receiving appropriate treatment and are under the care of the appropriate specialist and following treatment recommendations. Your insurance company is looking for information that demonstrates how your illness prevents you from performing your employment duties.

Knowing Your Rights When Suffering From Postpartum Depression In The Workplace

Originally published on famiizuu.ca Republished with permission.

You expected this would be one of the happiest times of your life, but youre feeling so miserable you can barely make it through the day. You love your newborn child dearly, but you also feel like running away. Youve been told by well-meaning people that its common to have the baby blues, but its difficult to believe that anyone truly understands what youre going through. You feel incredibly alone.

You are definitely not alone. One in seven women suffer from a serious mood disorder called postpartum depression following their pregnancy. While its symptoms vary from person to person, postpartum depression is a debilitating condition that can last many months if not properly treated.

In this blog, Ill outline the signs and symptoms of postpartum depression, explore how postpartum depression can make returning to work extremely challenging if not impossible, and explain your right to claim disability benefits and/or to workplace accommodations.

What Is Postpartum Depression?

Following pregnancy, its very common and completely normal to experience a short period of sadness or irritability commonly called the baby blues. Research suggests about 60-80 per cent of women who experience significant post-birth hormonal changes, often combined with sleep deprivation, may feel weepy, moody and unsure of themselves as parents.

Other symptoms or warning signs of postpartum depression include:

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Traditional Pregnancy Income Replacement

Typically, time off for maternity leave consists of a combination of personal vacation time, company-provided maternity leave, and short-term disability benefits. Short-term disability insurance policies consider pregnancy a disability and benefits are usually paid for six weeks after a vaginal delivery or eight weeks after a C-section.

There is usually a brief waiting period of a few weeks before short-term disability payments begin. If you experience complications which will require a longer recovery period, long-term disability insurance may be the right choice for you.

Can I Use Fmla For Stress And Anxiety

There is no problem with that. It is possible to take intermittent FMLA if your doctor believes that a shortened workweek or other accommodation is necessary to help you cope with your serious stress condition. The FMLA allows employees to take up to 60 days off per year, and they do not have to take the days off in consecutive years.

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Find Out How Darraslaw Can Help You

It wont cost you anything to place your long-term disability claim on the right track.

Contact us anytime at 458-4577 for a free consultation and policy analysis with DarrasLaw.

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Does Ssd Cover Postpartum Depression

On Behalf of Disability Rights Law Center | Jun 15, 2020 | Social Security Disability

Though not largely understood, postpartum depression is a condition that affects many new mothers following the births of their children or a miscarriage. Postpartum depression, otherwise known as postnatal depression, can persist for several months or even years following the triggering event.

According to Disability Benefits Help, postnatal depression can have several adverse consequences for both mother and baby. On the one hand, the baby suffers because it does not receive the love, affection and care it needs to thrive both physically and emotionally outside of the womb. On the other hand, the mother suffers from excess stress, behavioral disengagement and the inability to problem solve. For many women, the condition becomes disabling.

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What Can I Do About It

Postpartum depression can be a very difficult experience. Becoming a new parent is hard enoughand the challenges added by depression can seem overwhelming. Its important to remember that there is no such thing as a perfect pregnancy, perfect birth, perfect baby, or perfect parent. You are doing the best you can. And with care and support, you can recover and enjoy time with your family.

Can Pregnancy Really Qualify You For Disability

In an earlier post, we discussed various reasons you might qualify for disability. We stated that one of those reasons is pregnancy . As we said there, its strange to think of one of the most beautiful, life-giving parts of life could create a disability in the mother, but from time to time, it can happen.

Let us say it here so that we can be completely clear: for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, pregnancy by itself does not qualify you to receive benefits. While pregnancy puts your body through some of the same rigors and pains as other disabilities , it doesnt qualify because it is not expected to exceed 12 months or lead to your death.

In some states , there are temporary, state-provided benefits for pregnancy as a disability, which if you live in one of those states, it is worth looking into. However, for those of you here in Florida, there is no type of short-term disability available to pregnant women. State laws vary, so if you do live in another state, be sure to check with your local government to see your own options.

However, as we said before, pregnancy can lead to other conditions that might qualify you for disability insurance. Pregnancy can be a very risky proposition for some, and for others the disabilities are entirely unforeseen. Two of these are injuries related to the pregnancy and postpartum depression.

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Can I Be Signed Off Work With Postnatal Depression

It is important to seriously consider all the options available to you if you are suffering from postnatal depression and thinking about returning to work. The length of maternity leave is 52 weeks, and although the last 13 weeks were unpaid, some additional time off work may be helpful in recovering.

Do I Have The Right To An Accommodation At Work For Postpartum Depression

• Under the Americans with Disabilities Act , you may have the right to reasonable accommodation at work, such as a modified work schedule, transfer to a less strenuous position, or work from home, for postpartum depression. To be considered a qualifying disability under the ADA, your postpartum depression must substantially limit a major life activity, such as sleeping, eating, concentrating, or working. If your postpartum depression meets the ADA definition, then you are entitled to a reasonable accommodation, unless providing an accommodation would create an undue hardship for your employer. Learn more here.
• Am I covered? You are covered if you work for an employer with 15 or more employees.

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Can You Get Disability For Depression

Depression is considered a disability. The Social Security Administration has a listing for depression, and if you can meet those criteria by providing extensive medical evidence and other supporting documentation, your claim will be approved.

You will need to provide exam notes, any mental testing records, reports from your therapist or counselor, and notes from any psychiatrist or psychologist who has treated your condition. The more evidence and documentation that you can provide, the more likely you are to have a successful claim.

A residual functional capacity form completed by your physician can be essential to the success of your disability claim. It will detail what you can and cannot do physically and mentally. When it involves depression, it will detail your ability to focus, if you have difficulty concentrating, your memory skills, your social skills, and your overall mental state.

It will help the disability examiner get a full picture of what you can and cannot do. The RFC can help the disability examiner determine if you meet the criteria of disabled and qualify for disability benefits.

You will need to provide medical records detailing your treatment and whether it has helped. As an example, any prescription drugs you have taken, if you have undergone therapy, and whether the treatment has helped in any way.

What This Study Adds

• Despite higher prevalence of Postpartum Depression among ethnic minorities, Bedouins and Arabs had significantly lower likelihood of Benefits Entitlement .

• The likelihood of divorced or widowed women and of women who were unemployed prior to childbirth, to receive Benefit Entitlement was significantly higher compared to those living with a spouse and compared to employed women.

• Income had a dose-response relationship with Benefit Entitlement, while lower income quartile being associated with a nearly four-fold greater probability for BE compared to the highest income quartile.

• Efforts should also be made to ensure that women suffering from postpartum emotional disorders be referred to social workers, who can help them claim their disability rights.

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Ssa Requirements For Depression

There are a few things you will need to know beforehand. Simply being diagnosed with depression will not qualify you to receive disability benefits.

To be qualified to receive Social Security disability benefits, you will need to:

• Get professionally diagnosed
• Be unable to work due to your condition
• Have sufficient medical evidence supporting your inability to work from the severity of your depression despite following your doctors treatment regimen.

Diagnosis, medical history and treatment are generally accepted, by the SSA, from professionals including:

• Psychiatrists

Bryant Legal Group: Chicagos Trusted Disability Insurance Firm

At Bryant Legal Group, our practice focuses on disability insurance law. We have a long history of standing up to disability insurance companies, helping disabled professionals get the benefits they deserve. We have recovered millions in benefits for our clients, and we can help you understand your disability insurance options during and after pregnancy.

To schedule your free consultation with a member of our team, call us at 312-561-3010 or complete our online form.

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What Are The Symptoms

A woman who has postpartum depression may:

• Feel very sad, hopeless, and empty. Some women also may feel anxious.
• Lose pleasure in everyday things.
• Not feel hungry and may lose weight. .
• Have trouble sleeping.
• Not be able to concentrate.

These symptoms can occur in the first day or two after the birth. Or they can follow the symptoms of the baby blues after a couple of weeks.

If you think you may have postpartum depression, take a short quiz to check your symptoms:

• Interactive Tool: Are You Depressed?

A woman who has postpartum psychosis may feel cut off from her baby. She may see and hear things that aren’t there. Any woman who has postpartum depression can have fleeting thoughts of suicide or of harming her baby. But a woman with postpartum psychosis may feel like she has to act on these thoughts.

If you think you can’t keep from hurting yourself, your baby, or someone else, see your doctor right away or call 911 for emergency medical care. For other resources, call:

• The national suicide hotline at 1-800-273-TALK .
• The National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-CHILD .

Advice For Family And Friends

You will need to provide lots of support, help and encouragement during thistime. As with all illnesses, recovery may be slow and there will be good andbad days. Try to be patient and understanding.

The HSE has advicefor partners, friends and families, or you can contact your GP for adviceon how to help. The Nurture Health website also has information on how to support someone withpostnatal depression.

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Is Ppd A Disability

Usually. State and federal law consider mental health disorders like PPD to be a disability when they interfere with your ability to work or live your life. PPD is recognized as a mental health disorder by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and by all major medical organizations.