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Welcome to the MGH Center for Women’s Mental Health

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.

The National Pregnancy Registry for Psychiatric Medications:

All pregnant women ages 18-45 are eligible to enroll in the registry. The primary goal of this Registry is to determine the frequency of major malformations, such as heart defects, cleft lip, or neural tube defects, in infants exposed to atypical antipsychotics and antidepressants during pregnancy.  We are currently seeking both controls and those being treated with atypical antipsychotics and/ or antidepressants. For more information, please visit this page, call 1-866-961-2388 or e-mail registry@womensmentalhealth.org.

 

Hummingbird Study: A new medication treatment study for postpartum depression

Anxious. Sad. Crying a lot. These are symptoms of postpartum depression. The Hummingbird Study is a research study evaluating an investigational medication in women suffering from moderate to severe postpartum depression.

You may qualify to participate in this study if you are between 18 to 45 years old, gave birth within the last 6 months, and feel extremely sad, anxious, or overwhelmed frequently as these symptoms are associated with postpartum depression.

If you qualify and decide to participate, you will receive 24-hour care and support for your postpartum depression during the 3-day, in-patient period. All study-related medical care and medication provided at no cost.

For more information, please visit this page, or call Lauren at 617-724-1181 or email lclaypoole@partners.org.

 

Course of ADHD in Pregnancy and the Postpartum

Are you pregnant? Do you have a history of ADHD?

If you are less than 20 weeks pregnant and have a history of ADHD, you may be eligible to take part in an observational research study for women maintaining, decreasing, or discontinuing psychostimulants during pregnancy and the postpartum. Women who participate will have 6 study visits from time of enrollment (<20 weeks pregnant) to 24 weeks postpartum.  The first visit must be in-person at Massachusetts General Hospital with the option to complete the remaining visits in-person or over the phone.

For more information, please call (617)726-2912 or email the study coordinator at onoe@partners.org

 

 

 EnBrace HR for MDD Relapse Prevention in         Women Trying to Conceive and Early Pregnancy:

 

Are you pregnant or planning a pregnancy? Do you feel depressed or have a history of depression? If you are less than 28 weeks pregnant or trying to conceive and have experienced depression now or in the past, you may be eligible to take part in a research study for the treatment of depression with a prenatal supplement. For more information, please visit this page, call Gina at 617-643-9284 or e-mail gsavella@partners.org.

 

 

Lifestyle Intervention Research Study Opportunity:

Are you pregnant or planning to become pregnant? Do you have a history of depression? Do you want to lose weight or have a healthier lifestyle? You may be eligible to participate in a research study evaluating a new lifestyle intervention for weight loss. Participants will receive 10 sessions of therapy at no cost to you.

If you are interested in participating or would like additional information, please call Samantha at 617-643-2076.

 

The MGH Center for Women’s Mental Health

Perinatal and Reproductive Psychiatry Program

Simches Research Building

185 Cambridge St Suite 2200

Boston, MA 02114

 

To make an appointment:

Massachusetts General Hospital Clinical Program: (617) 724-7792

Location of appointments: 

Wang Ambulatory Care Center, Massachusetts General Hospital

15 Parkman St., Floor 8

Boston, MA 02114-3117 

Latest News from our Blog

  • Weekly Roundup for July 21, 2017: Recent Publications in Women’s Mental Health

    July 21, 2017

    There a few new articles on the impact of antidepressant use during pregnancy.  Viktorin and colleagues demonstrated no increase in risk for intellectual disability in children with prenatal exposure to antidepressants.  Rai and colleagues demonstrated a small increase in risk of autism (without intellectual disability) in children exposed prenatally to antidepressants. We will be covering ...

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  • Is Psychiatric Illness a Risk Factor for Hyperemesis Gravidarum?

    July 13, 2017

      While the majority of pregnant women experience nausea and/or vomiting during the first trimester of pregnancy, a smaller subset of women — around 1% — experience more severe and intractable vomiting, or hyperemesis gravidarum (HG).  If left untreated, prolonged hyperemesis can lead to weight loss, dehydration, nutrient deficiencies and electrolyte disturbances.   We do not fully ...

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  • Alcohol Use in Pregnancy: Even Low Levels of Alcohol Exposure Associated with Craniofacial Abnormalities

    July 11, 2017

      While different countries may have different attitudes toward the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has taken a firm stand against the use of alcohol during pregnancy. In the report entitled “Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders,” published in the November 2015 issue of Pediatrics, the AAP identified prenatal exposure to alcohol ...

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  • Evolving practice in perinatal psychopharmacology: Lessons learned

    July 5, 2017

    The following post was first published in OB/GYN News. Please see our OB/GYN News archives here. Publish date: July 3, 2017   Over the last 2 decades, there has been a growing interest in establishing a rich evidence base for treatment of psychiatric illness in pregnancy and the postpartum period. It seems as if a week does not go by ...

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  • Weekly Roundup for June 30, 2017: Recent Publications in Women’s Mental Health

    June 30, 2017

    Happy Fourth of July!  This week there are several articles on the use of antipsychotics during pregnancy (Tosato et al and Park et al). The highlight of this week is an article from Man and colleagues which did not show an association between prenatal antidepressant exposure and risk for ADHD in children.   A Systematized Review ...

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  • Perinatal Depression: Can We Predict Who is At Risk for Suicide?

    June 29, 2017

      It is estimated that suicide accounts for about 10% of all maternal deaths. While we have a fair amount of information to help us predict which women are at risk for depression during pregnancy and the postpartum period, few studies have identified risk factors for suicide in this vulnerable population. Suicidal ideation is fairly common among ...

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