OVERVIEW

Virtual – Women’s Mental Health: Perinatal and Reproductive Psychiatry is organized by MGH Institute of Health Professions and will be held on Oct 16, 2025.

Description:
Perinatal Psychiatry: Treatment During Pregnancy and the Postpartum will focus on the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders in women across pregnancy and the postpartum. Specialized knowledge is necessary to tailor treatments to reproductive events such as pregnancy, pregnancy planning, and the postpartum. Exposure to psychotropic medications and the consequence of untreated psychiatric disorders must be considered when treating pregnant women, those who may become pregnant during treatment, and those who are breastfeeding. Up to date and comprehensive knowledge is required to help patients make collaborative and individualized treatment decisions. A strong understanding of the literature pertaining to the reproductive safety of medications is imperative to factoring in potential risks and benefits of medication, and context is particularly critical in putting risks into perspective. Focused material will be presented regarding specialized psychotherapies utilized during pregnancy and the postpartum, as well as an overview of embryology and obstetrics informing a broad range of care modalities.

Learning Objectives:

After participating in this conference, attendees will be able to:

Describe and apply the risks/benefits regarding the utilization of psychiatric medication during pregnancy, postpartum and breastfeeding context.
Identify strategies for screening and treatment of postpartum depression.
Discuss the presentation and treatment of postpartum psychosis; describe and assess the vulnerability for mood episodes in women with bipolar disorder and acute treatment and preventative strategies.
Identify reliable resources for information on the reproductive safety of medications.
Discuss the pharmacologic treatments of substance use disorders in pregnant and postpartum women.
Discuss the pharmacologic treatments of ADHD in pregnant and postpartum women.
Describe the research on evidence-based psychotherapy for perinatal mental health.
Describe the treatment of emergency perinatal mental health care.