APA Blogs
12 Results
Pregnancy, Mental and Substance Use Conditions and Treatment: Advice from Mental Health Experts
An estimated one in five childbearing persons in the U.S. experience a mental or substance use disorder before, during, or after pregnancy each year. With support from the CDC Foundation, APA has developed a series of educational materials for addressing perinatal mental health. This toolkit includes four fact sheets for patients: for people planning to become pregnant, for pregnant persons, for postpartum people, and suggestions for preparing for medical appointments.
Women’s History Month: The Rise of Reproductive Psychiatry
During Women’s History Month, we invite you to reflect on the history of women’s mental health and the rapid advancement of the field of reproductive psychiatry over the past several decades. While our understanding of women’s mental health has thankfully progressed from Hippocrates’ attribution of psychological distress to a “wandering uterus,” much of this development has been surprisingly recent.
Parental Leave Brings Mental Health Benefits, Especially for Mothers
Along with all the excitement and anticipation, becoming a new parent comes with a great deal of change and potential stress, such as the challenges of childrearing, financial pressure and career uncertainties. This elevated stress can contribute to mental health problems, including peripartum depression. New research published in the Lancet finds that access to employer-provided parental leave may help protect mothers’ mental health in the months after childbirth.
Caring for Pregnant Women: A Psychiatrist’s Guide
Every psychiatrist will see a pregnant woman or other patient who is pregnant someday. When that person presents to your office, will you be ready? Many of us received little if any training on the subject, so the American Psychiatric Association’s Committee on Women’s Mental Health would like to help. Read on for five things every psychiatrist needs to know before a pregnant patient walks in your door.
Women’s History Month: Spotlighting the Women Leaders of APA
March is Women’s History Month and we’re highlighting several women currently leading the organization: APA President Vivian Pender, M.D., President-Elect Rebecca W. Brendel, M.D., J.D., and Assembly Speaker Mary Jo Fitz-Gerald, M.D., M.B.A.