UMass Medical School tagged posts

How MCPAP for Moms Offers a Lifeline to Providers and Women in Need

Nancy Byatt

Care for Your Mind acknowledges and appreciates the collaboration of the National Network of Depression Centers in developing this series.

How MCPAP for Moms Offers a Lifeline to Providers and Women in Need
Nancy Byatt, D.O., M.S., M.B.A., F.A.P.M., with contributions by Jamie Belsito and Amanda Martin

With nearly 15% of pregnant or postpartum women suffering from depression and very few medical providers able to offer effective treatment, it’s clear there’s a serious gap in available care.

JaimieAs we’ve discussed throughout this series, this is a national health crisis, and the answer, in short, is for the system to expand its capacity for care.

Through our work in Massachusetts, we’ve found that a centralized program allows us to easily increase the care that physicians are able to offer. Doing so simultaneously solves a major dilemma for providers, who have long felt frustrated at their inability to help mothers in need— and helps patients feel secure and supported. That’s the role the MCPAP for Moms (Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project for Moms) has been filling since its inception last year.

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Why Psychiatric Care for Pregnant Women Often Falls Short

Nancy Byatt

Care for Your Mind acknowledges and appreciates the collaboration of the National Network of Depression Centers in developing this series.

Why Psychiatric Care for Pregnant Women Often Falls Short
Nancy Byatt, D.O., M.S., M.B.A., F.A.P.M.

When a maternal suicide or infanticide (the intentional killing of a child within a year of birth) makes the news, everyone is left with one question: How could this have happened? The truth is that the potential for this kind of tragedy lies within a very specific segment of the population: vulnerable pregnant and postpartum women in need of psychiatric care.

Of the millions of women who suffer from perinatal mental health issues, most have unipolar depression and can be treated successfully by trained OBs or other primary care providers. The remaining 20 percent, however, require psychiatric care for more complex conditions such as severe depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or postpartum psychosis, and it’s in this population where tragedy can occur.

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Maternal Mental Health:
A National Health Care Crisis

Nancy Byatt

Care for Your Mind acknowledges and appreciates the collaboration of the National Network of Depression Centers in developing this series.

Maternal Mental Health: A National Health Care Crisis
Nancy Byatt, D.O., M.S., M.B.A., F.A.P.M.

Few issues are of more importance to our society than the psychological well-being of pregnant and postpartum women. They are the guardians of current and future generations — our mothers, partners, children, daughters, and sisters.

Tragically, America’s mothers are facing a mental health care crisis. One in seven women who are pregnant or have recently had a baby suffers from depression, making it more common than diabetes during pregnancy. This is an epidemic that affects all of us, impacting hospitals, homes, schools, and workplaces.

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