Meeting Patients’ Perinatal Mental Health Needs
When I delivered my first baby in 2016, I did not understand how I would feel postpartum. Though I had many family members who had experienced birth and postpartum before me, they did not share their challenges, fears and emotions. Their stories revolved around the demands of caring for a newborn.
I fell into the same pattern. Like so many women before me, my own feelings remained unspoken. It was never about me, Aisha. I did not realize how common my struggles were nor how isolating postpartum would feel.
Nine years and a few kids later, I know that I was not alone. 1 in 8 women report symptoms of postpartum depression after birth, and 1 in 5 pregnant or postpartum women experience anxiety. The most startling statistic: 65% of pregnancy-associated morbidity and mortality happens during the postpartum period and are primarily caused by mental health conditions.
Through my role at the American Hospital Association, I have witnessed the transformative changes hospitals and health systems are implementing to improve maternal mental health. They are offering access to resources and creating unique and tailored approaches for postpartum support to best meet the needs of their patients and communities. And at the AHA, we will continue to elevate the importance of postpartum mental health so that no mom feels alone.
The Role of Hospitals in Optimizing Postpartum Mental Health Support
Hospitals can play a key role in building holistic treatment and support for perinatal mental health disorders during this critical period. Last year, the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health and the AHA cohosted a panel discussion with leaders from Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, La., and the University of Colorado Hospital on providing maternal mental health care. The panelists discussed the clinical and operational considerations of their programs as well as topics ranging from respectful maternity care and multidisciplinary team-based care to peer support and integration with community-based partners.
Programming and Practice
Woman’s Hospital Inpatient Program
Woman’s Hospital is the newest of a handful of inpatient perinatal mental health treatment programs. Their 10-bed perinatal mental health unit opened in September 2024 and had served 43 patients by mid-October. Their team specializes in caring for high-risk pregnant women and those who have experienced a pregnancy loss, supporting women up to one year postpartum.
Patients receive team-based care from psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurse practitioners, nurses skilled in both obstetrical and psychiatric care, specialty-trained mental health technicians, maternal fetal medicine specialists, onsite OBGYNs and lactation consultants. The unit also provides group therapy, which helps patients feel a sense of support in shared experiences.
Woman’s Hospital has built partnerships with nearby clinics and community-based organizations to expand reach, raise awareness and gather resources to better support women when they are admitted. The aim is for this integrated approach to help women build trust with the inpatient hospital program and ensure they can access the support they need.
The University of Colorado Hospital Anschutz Medical Campus, Intensive Outpatient Program
The University of Colorado’s Healthy Expectations Perinatal Mental Health Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) provides care for individuals with moderate to severe perinatal mood and anxiety disorders or related conditions. The program provides a higher level of treatment than traditional outpatient therapy. The IOP runs nine hours weekly over an eight-week curriculum, focusing on three key components: skill-building and coping strategies for managing mental health symptoms, promoting secure parent-child attachment, and developing wellness strategies and routines.
The program prioritizes connecting families to community-based resources that reduce isolation, foster connection and validate the challenges of parenthood. Collaborations with local organizations, such as doula programs for individuals with substance use behaviors, as well as community parenting interventions, provide support beyond traditional maternal mental health support. The hospital also provides home visits, parenting workshops and peer-led groups to ensure families receive care that meets their unique needs and empowers them to thrive.
Key Takeaways
Both hospitals emphasized the need to partner with front-line providers to build their awareness of perinatal mental health needs and services. They need training to identify mental health conditions and establish systems for referrals and follow-ups with specialists and community resources as appropriate. Hospitals also can play a role in providing clinicians with additional trainings, such as behavioral health integration training through the American Psychiatric Association.
Clinicians and mental health professionals in hospitals can register for the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health’s Maternal Mental Health Certificate Training for Mental Health and Clinical Professionals to gain knowledge and insights on strategies and interventions to increase awareness, screening and treatment of perinatal mental health conditions. Hospitals also can connect patients and their families to the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline, 1-833-TLC-MAMA, which offers 24/7 support and resources via call or text to pregnant women and new mothers and their families. These resources help ensure front-line providers have the tools necessary to respond to mental health needs.
By normalizing conversations about mental health across the perinatal care continuum, bringing awareness of its impact, supporting obstetric providers to screen and educate, and creating new hospital treatment programs, we can create a culture where new moms feel empowered to seek help and are supported when they do.
Aisha Syeda, MPH, senior program manager for AHA’s Strategic Initiatives
Regan Moss, MPH, policy and programs analyst with the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health