New care guide helps providers caring for pregnant, postpartum patients

Department News | April 29, 2021


The Perinatal Mental Health Care Guide is a new resource created by the Maternal-Child Mental Health Program. This 50-page, peer-reviewed care guide is designed to help prenatal and primary care providers caring for pregnant and postpartum patients with mental health symptoms or concerns. It is divided into modules (e.g., depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder) and includes screening tools, brief overviews of diagnosis and treatment, information about medications and their risks during the perinatal period, and selected resources. Inspired by the Care Guides produced by the Partnership Access Line (PAL) team, the Perinatal Mental Health Care Guide will be given to every provider who calls the PAL for Moms provider consultation line, among other distribution plans.

Contributors and reviewers of the guide include Aba Nduom, MD, Amritha Bhat, MD, MPH, Alicia Kerlee, MSW, Aubrey Demajh, MD, Deborah Cowley, MD, Carmen Croicu, MD, Cummings Rork, MD, Katherine Palm-Cruz, MD, Kelly Wurzel, MD, Laurel Pellegrino, MD, Megan Riddle, MD, PhD, MS, Nadejda Bespalova, MD, and Ramanpreet Toor, MD. Please share the guide with your networks!