The Perinatal Service is a resource for providers caring for patients with mental health concerns who are pregnant, postpartum, and breast/chest-feeding and individuals in need of preconception consultation. Medical providers can consult directly with a perinatal psychiatrist trained in perinatal mental health conditions and medication safety and receive evidence-based guidance around screening, assessment, diagnosis and treatment of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Consults may be single questions or may involve ongoing contact for complex issues. Liaison coordinators provide resources and referrals to providers for their perinatal patients.
The consultation may result in recommendations for appropriate screening, treatment, or referral resources, all of which promote a trauma-informed approach to care.
For complex cases, the perinatal psychiatrist may consult over a longitudinal timeframe, supporting a patient’s care over multiple visits.
“I am a midwife caring for a 33 year-old woman, 8 weeks pregnant, she says she has a history of bipolar disorder and PTSD. She has no therapist, no psychiatrist, her PCP was prescribing lamotrigine and fluoxetine but stopped when she said she was pregnant. She is presenting as very anxious”.
“I am an OB seeing a woman for her 6-week postpartum check. She scored a 12 on her EPDS, has a history of depression in college for which she took citalopram. Wondering if I should start an SSRI or would she be a good candidate for the new Postpartum Depression med, zuranolone?”
About
Sarah Guth is a Perinatal Psychiatrist based at the University of Vermont Medical Center. For the past eight years, Sarah has been seeing patients who are pregnant, postpartum, or have other symptoms associated with reproductive hormones, such as PMDD, or mental health concerns associated with perimenopause. In addition to direct clinical care, Sarah supports other providers to take care of Vermont's perinatal people with VTCPAP.
Call the VTCPAP Consultation Line or register your practice today!
VTCPAP is hosted by The Vermont Program for Quality in Health Care, Inc. (VPQHC).
This program is supported by VT DMH Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program with funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
and the Four Pines Fund as part of an award totaling $869,607 with 20% financed with non-governmental sources.
This program is also supported by the VT Dept of Health Maternal Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders Program with funding from the
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as part of an award totaling $666,666 with 10% financed with non-governmental sources, as well as through matched Medicaid administrative funds. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.
For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.
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