APA, CDC Foundation join forces, create toolkit for maternal mental health care

An advisory panel composed of 21 psychiatrists and other mental health clinicians has developed a set of educational materials to address maternal mental health needs.

“The United States is behind on maternal health care, period,” Petros Levounis, MD, MA, American Psychiatric Association (APA) president, said in a press release from the group. “And we cannot, as we begin to try to fix this problem, forget about mental health.”

The Psychiatric Toolkit, a collaboration between the APA and CDC Foundation, consists of fact sheets, a white paper and a webinar series “covering this understudied and underserved area of mental health,” according to the release.

“We hope that this project helps everyone understand that if the pregnant person’s mental health is neglected, the overall family health will also suffer,” Diana E. Clarke, PhD, APA managing director of research and senior epidemiologist/research statistician, said in the release.

Reference:

• Perinatal mental health toolkit. https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/professional-interests/women-s-mental-health/maternal-mental-health-toolkit. Accessed Aug. 7, 2023.