Welcome

Welcome to The Ammon-Pinizzotto Center for Women’s Mental Health at MGH. Our Center, established in 1989, has been renamed following the generous gift from Carol Ammon and Dr. Marie Pinizzotto. These resources will be used to realize the overarching mission of the Center.

This website provides a range of current information including discussion of new research findings in women’s mental health and how such investigations inform day-to-day clinical practice. Despite the growing number of studies being conducted in women’s health, the clinical implications of such work are frequently controversial, leaving patients with questions regarding the most appropriate path to follow. Providing these resources to patients and their doctors so that individual clinical decisions can be made in a thoughtful and collaborative fashion dovetails with the mission of our Center.

Latest News from our Blog

• Prenatal Valproic Acid Exposure and Poor School Performance in Older Children

  April 17, 2018

  

    There have long been concerns regarding the use of the anticonvulsant valproate (Depakote) during pregnancy.  First trimester use of valproate has been associated with a 3-5% risk of neural tube defects, as well as an increased risk of other malformations affecting the heart, limbs, and genitals. Prenatal exposure to valproate may also result in lower ...

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• One in Four Pregnant Women Suffers from Psychiatric Illness: How Can We Identify and Support Them?

  April 11, 2018

  

    The title of the following article did not grab my attention; however, I discovered that this study, entitled Accuracy of the Whooley questions and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale in identifying depression and other mental disorders in early pregnancy published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, has some incredibly important findings. First of all, this is ...

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• Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors and Postpartum Hemorrhage: Maybe There Are Other Factors Involved

  April 10, 2018

  

    Serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) antidepressants may affect platelet aggregation and thus may increase the risk of bleeding.  Over the last few years, we have seen several studies which have sought to determine if exposure to SSRI antidepressants in pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of postpartum hemorrhage. The most recent study was a matched cohort ...

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• Announcing the MGH Perinatal Depression Scale (MGHPDS) Mobile App Now Available for Android

  April 4, 2018

  

    Following the release of the MGH Perinatal Depression Scale (MGHPDS) on the App Store this past August, we are pleased to announce that the MGHPDS is now available for Android devices on the Google Play store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.womensmentalhealth.mghpds The MGHPDS smartphone app includes digital versions of perinatal depression screening tools including the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) ...

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• Hormone Therapy May Prevent Depression in Perimenopausal Women: But What Are the Risks?

  April 3, 2018

  

    Multiple studies have demonstrated that the menopausal transition is associated with a 2- to 4-fold increased risk for clinically significant depressive symptoms. There have been several studies suggesting that hormone therapy may improve depressive symptoms in women presenting with depression during this transition.  A recent study examined the efficacy of hormone replacement therapy in preventing the ...

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• Weekly Roundup for March 30, 2018: Recent Publications in Women’s Mental Health

  April 1, 2018

  

  This week there are two very interesting articles which look at the impact of parental exposure to adverse childhood experiences may affect a child developmental outcomes.  Colker and colleagues note that about 20% of women with histories of psychiatric illness experience suicidal ideation during the postpartum period. Ruta Nonacs, MD PhD Parental Adverse Childhood Experiences and ...

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