BATON ROUGE – The Woman’s Hospital recently celebrated the opening of its Perinatal Mental Health Unit (PMHU), the first of its kind in the state and one of only a few in the country. Woman’s PMHU is solely dedicated to helping the needs of pregnant and postpartum women, serving the specialized needs of those up to one year postpartum or who have recently suffered a pregnancy loss.
The unit started admitting patients in September.
PMHU is an inpatient psychiatric facility with 10 beds available, but Woman’s also offers outpatient mental health services in its Behavioral Health Clinic for continued care. PMHU patients must be at least 18 years old; can be at any stage of pregnancy, up to one year postpartum, or have suffered a pregnancy loss within the last year and have a primary psychiatric diagnosis.
Dr. Kelly Cannon, director of inpatient perinatal psychiatry, said the goal of the unit is to help those women who struggle with “perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.”
“This can range from various different mental health conditions — from major depression, postpartum depression, PTSD, severe anxiety disorders, postpartum psychosis,” she explained. “We are prepared to treat all these different mental health conditions in this perinatal population.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in eight women who recently had a live birth, reported symptoms of postpartum depression. In addition, the rate of a depression diagnosis increased after a delivery; with the rate being seven times higher in 2015 than in 2000.
The CDC also reported that maternal mental health conditions are among the most common complications of pregnancy and childbirth, affecting one in five women. Of those affected, 75 percent go untreated. Additionally, mental health conditions are a leading cause of maternal mortality in the U.S.
“Last year, we saw a concerning number of women being admitted to our hospital who were suffering from mental health challenges, and we realized there was an unmet need for inpatient care particularly for this group of women in our community,” Woman’s President/CEO Rene Ragas said in a press release.
Before the opening of this unit, pregnant women who needed inpatient psychiatric care struggled to find options that offered the kind of treatment they needed, especially because most psychiatric facilities are not equipped for pregnancy or birth care, Cannon said.
In addition, due to safety concerns, many inpatient psychiatric units separate postpartum mothers from their families and baby. However, the Woman’s PMHU will offer infant visitation, along with other services and options that cater to these mothers and help enhance their overall wellbeing.
With Louisiana having a high infant mortality rate — 7.8 deaths per 1,000 live births — Cannon said the hope is for the unit to make a difference in both infant and maternal health, a core mission of Woman’s.
“Louisiana can be proud that we’re actually kind of leading the way and trying to address this head on,” Cannon said.
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