MCPAP for Moms tagged posts

Post-Partum Depression: The Broader Picture

An Interview with Nancy Byatt, D.O., M.S., M.B.A., F.A.P.M.
MCPAP for Moms

Care for Your Mind approached Dr. Nancy Byatt, Medical Director at MCPAP for Moms, about the broader issue of maternal mental health. The incident in Sacramento caused us to take another look at the maternal mental health series we ran in February and March of 2016, which Dr. Byatt had helped to orchestrate.

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Everyone Can Be an Advocate!

Joy Burkhard

Together We Can Change the Face of Maternal Mental Health Care
Joy Burkhard, MBA

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

At 2020 Mom, our name reflects one overarching goal: to close the gaps in maternal mental health (MMH) by the year 2020. Given what you’ve read in previous posts about the state of care, this may seem like an ambitious deadline, but we believe it is possible.

As a nonprofit maternal mental health advocacy organization, 2020 Mom is dedicated to offering tangible steps stakeholders can take to effect change. Since we launched in California in 2011, we’ve seen a groundswell begin to bubble up nationally. Providers, insurers, and health care systems are starting to recognize the magnitude of the gap in care when it comes to maternal mental health because of the work so many are doing.

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How Legislation Can Change the Face of Perinatal Mental Health

MA State Representative Ellen Story and U.S. Congresswoman Katherine Clark
with introductions by Dr. Nancy Byatt

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

Nancy Byatt: If we truly want to fix the state of perinatal mental health care in this country, a collaborative effort is essential. Achieving universal care will take the collective input of many different players – people with lived experience, providers, insurance companies, advocates, legislators, and more.

While every avenue of advancement is important, adopting legislation is a crucial piece of the puzzle; it’s the only way we can ensure pregnant and postpartum women get the care they need.

In Massachusetts, legislative efforts have been the foundation for the success of MCPAP for Moms. This is due in large part to MA Rep. Ellen Story, author of the 2010 Massachusetts Postpartum Depression legislation and co-chair of the Postpartum Depression (PPD) Commission. The Commission offers recommendations on PPD policy to the Massachusetts Departments of Public Health and Mental Health (MDPH and DMH), which in turn funds MCPAP for Moms. Representative Story has been instrumental in helping Massachusetts become a leader in the field of perinatal mental health care.

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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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Why Doctors Can’t Treat Their Patients: Barriers to Mental Health Care for Obstetricians, Pediatricians, and Psychiatrists

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

Why Doctors Can’t Treat Their Patients: Barriers to Mental Health Care for Obstetricians, Pediatricians, and Psychiatrists

Tiffany A. Moore Simas, MD, MPH, MEd, FACOG, John Straus, MD, FAAP

JohnDoctors have a responsibility to care for their patients, but what happens when they don’t have the resources to do so properly? Historically, this has been the situation that obstetric, pediatric, and psychiatric providers have faced when it came to the mental health of pregnant and postpartum women.

Because most of these physicians haven’t had adequate training, tools, time, and/or support, women with postpartum depression (PPD) have frequently gone undetected or without adequate treatment. Until recently, perinatal depression screening was not clearly recommended as part of routine pregnancy and postpartum care. Even providers who recognized the importance of screening were hesitant to screen, primarily because they had limited support and resources to offer if a patient screened positive.

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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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I Had Postpartum Depression and the System Failed Me

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

I Had Postpartum Depression and the System Failed Me
Jamie Belsito

After the births of each of my two daughters, I suffered from postpartum depression (PPD), OCD, anxiety, and intrusive thoughts. Both were terrifying experiences. There were times I wanted to go to sleep and never wake up, times I experienced visions of stabbing myself with sharp objects.  My experiences made no sense to me, as I was joyful about both of my pregnancies and the births of my daughters.

During what was to be the most wonderful time of my life, instead, I felt alone and completely confused. I didn’t know where to turn, and even when I reached out for help, the response from the medical community was inadequate.

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