What About Pregnant Women and the COVID-19 Vaccine?
It hasn’t even been a week since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued the first emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 infection. Yesterday, Americans started receiving their first doses of the vaccine. However, our supplies of the vaccine are still limited, and states are now determining who will be at the top of the list to receive the vaccine.  Should Pregnant Women [...]
Essential Reads: Screening for Perinatal Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety symptoms are common during pregnancy and the postpartum period. According to a recent meta-analysis from Fawcett and colleagues, about one out of every five women has at least one type of anxiety disorder during pregnancy or the postpartum period. In 2015, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued a committee opinion recommending that clinicians screen patients at least once during the perinatal period for depression and anxiety symptoms.  [...]
CBT Effective for Perimenopausal Vasomotor Symptoms, Sleep and Depression
Several recent articles suggest that the burden of menopausal symptoms is greater than generally perceived. About 80% of women experience vasomotor symptoms (VMS) – hot flashes and night sweats — as they transition into the menopause phase. For most, the symptoms are manageable, but for a sizable subset of midlife women, these symptoms can negatively affect sleep, mood, cognitive abilities, sexual functioning, and overall quality of life. While clinical guidelines suggest [...]
Weekly Roundup for DECEMBER 4, 2020: Recent Publications in Women’s Mental Health
Every week we review the most recent publications in women’s mental health, covering topics related to premenstrual symptoms, perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, use of medications in pregnant and breastfeeding women, perinatal substance use, and menopausal mental health. In January 2021, we will be offering a new online course entitled “Perinatal Psychiatry: In-Depth Modules for Enhance Approaches”. This 6-week course will build on the basic information provided in the course we [...]
Treating insomnia, anxiety in a pandemic
Dr. Lee S. Cohen, Director of the Ammon-Pinizzotto Center for Women's Mental Health at Massachusetts General Hospital, recently shared his insights on treating insomnia and anxiety during pregnancy amidst the COVID-19 pandemic with Ob.Gyn News on December 1st, 2020 Since the start of the pandemic, we have been conducting an extra hour of Virtual Rounds at the Center for Women’s Mental Health. Virtual Rounds has been an opportunity to discuss cases around [...]
Essential Reads: Mirtazapine (Remeron) and Pregnancy
This is the first installment of a new feature on our website: ESSENTIAL READS This is a kind of shortcut which allows you to find the most relevant reviews and articles in reproductive psychiatry. Each Wednesday, we will add a new article to the collection. In this section of our website, we will highlight the most up-to-date articles to help guide diagnosis, clinical decision-making, and treatment options. You can find [...]