On November 21st, 2024, The Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health and the American Hospital Association co-hosted a panel discussion with Women’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the University of Colorado Hospital addressing the role hospitals can play in building up the continuum of maternal mental health care.
Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, La. is the newest of a handful of inpatient perinatal mental health treatment programs. The 10-bed unit opened in 2024. University of Colorado Hospital’s Intensive Outpatient program focused on support, therapy and medication management.
In addition to addressing clinical and operational start up and sustainability considerations of their programs, the panelists also covered a range of topics from respectful maternity care, multidisciplinary team-based care, peer support, and a focus on integrating with community-based partners who provide non-clinical support.
Programming and Practice
Women’s Hospital Baton Rouge, LA Inpatient Program
For instance, the Women’s Hospital (LA) launched a 10-bed perinatal mental health unit in September 2024, serving 43 admissions by mid-October. Their team specializes in supporting the needs of pregnant women who are high-risk and also extend support up to one year postpartum and for those who have experienced a pregnancy loss within the last year.
What is unique about this unit is the safe space it provides women in their most vulnerable state. Patients receive team-based care composed of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurse practitioners, nurses skilled in both obstetrical and psychiatric care, specialty-trained mental health technicians, maternal fetal medicine specialist, onsite OBGYNs and lactation consultants. The unit also provides group therapy, which helps patients connect with one another and feel a sense of support in shared experiences.
The efforts at the Women’s Hospital respond to patient desires for care to be non-stigmatizing and respectful. While moms spend time caring for themselves and their needs, they are also able to spend time with their babies and families, ensuring they build that connection with their newborn, while pumping or breastfeeding as needed.
While this unit is new, the hospital has built partnerships with nearby clinics and community-based organizations to expand reach, raise awareness and gather resources to better support women while admitted. The aim is for this integrated approach to help women build trust with the inpatient hospital program and ensures they do not fall through the cracks.
The University of Anschutz Colorado Medical Campus Hospital, Intensive Outpatient Program
In March 2024, The University of Colorado launched the Healthy Expectations Perinatal Mental Health Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), a more intensive care option for individuals with moderate to severe perinatal mood and anxiety disorders or related conditions. The program is designed to provide a higher level of treatment than traditional outpatient therapy, helping participants recover more quickly and build a strong foundation for their ongoing well-being. The IOP runs 9 hours weekly over an 8-week curriculum, focusing on three key components: skill-building for managing mental health symptoms and coping strategies, promoting secure parent-child attachment, and wellness strategies and routines.
The hospital also prioritizes connecting families to community-based resources that reduce isolation, foster connection, and validate the challenges of parenthood. Collaborations with local organizations, such as doula programs for individuals with substance use behaviors, as well as community parenting interventions, provide support beyond traditional maternal mental health support. Additional services provided by the hospital, such as home visits, parenting workshops, and peer-led groups, ensure families receive person-centered care that meets their unique needs, enhancing engagement and empowering them to thrive.
Implications for Policy and Systems-Level Change
Hospitals have the ability to develop much-needed inpatient and higher levels of outpatient care. Supporting maternal mental health needs and promoting mental wellbeing requires a long-term, comprehensive approach; in order for hospitals and hospital systems to create sustainable programming, there needs to be infrastructure in place to help introduce, scale, and sustain efforts.
For instance, team-based care models require scopes of practice to be clearly defined and group billing codes.
Women’s Hospital and The University of Colorado Hospital emphasized the need to partner with frontline providers so they are aware of services and to equip them with training and support to screen to identify mental health conditions and establish systems for referrals and follow-ups with specialists and community resources as appropriate.
Hospitals can also play a role in providing physicians with the opportunity to access additional trainings, such as Behavioral Health Integration training through the American Psychiatric Association, and connecting them with billing and screening resources such as The Policy Center’s Maternal Mental Health Care – Obstetric Provider Billing and Reimbursement Guide and the Women’s Preventive Services Initiative’s Billing & Coding Guide for Women’s Preventive Services. These resources help ensure frontline providers have the tools necessary to respond to mental health needs.
By normalizing conversations about mental health across perinatal care, bringing awareness of its impact, supporting obstetric providers to screen and educate, and creating new hospital treatment programs, we can create a culture where every parent feels empowered to seek help and be supported when they do.
Aisha Syeda, MPH, Senior Program Manager for American Hospital Association Strategic Initiatives
Regan Moss, MPH, Policy and Programs Analyst with the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health
