MU School Of Medicine Develops Program To Increase Access To Prenatal Care For New Moms

Citing mental health conditions as the leading underlying cause of pregnancy-related deaths contributing to about one-third of maternal deaths, the M-U School of Medicine is launching a program to increase access to prenatal mental health care for new moms.

The university was recently awarded a five-year $3.37 million federal grant and a $1.5 million contract through the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to implement a program aimed at reducing infant mortality by providing prenatal psychiatric care.

Providers enrolling in the program will have access to free expert consolation, referrals to community=based resources, ongoing education and care coordination.

***Full Release:

Mental health factors, such as depression, anxiety, suicide and substance abuse are among the leading underlying causes of maternal death nationally according to the CDC. In Missouri, mental health conditions were the leading underlying cause of pregnancy-related deaths, contributing to roughly a third of all maternal deaths. Even as awareness of the link between mental health factors and maternal mortality grows, access to care, especially in rural Missouri, remains problematic. Now, a team from the University of Missouri is launching a program to make mental health care more accessible for pregnant and new moms throughout the state.

The University of Missouri School of Medicine was recently awarded a five-year $3.37 million federal grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration and a $1.5 million contract through the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services to implement a program designed to reduce maternal mortality in Missouri through access to perinatal psychiatric care.

The University of Missouri has a strong track record of success filling mental health care coverage gaps. Started in 2018, the School of Medicine’s Missouri Child Psychiatry Access Project, or MO-CPAP, has delivered more than 2,000 child psychiatry consultations to providers throughout the state. Now, the same team from MU is expanding their offerings to include mental health care for pregnant and new moms. The Missouri Perinatal Psychiatry Access Project, or MO-PPAP, will build on the success of MO-CPAP in delivering access to mental health care in traditionally underserved communities.

“Addressing mental health for pregnant and new moms begins in the primary care setting and this program is designed to give those providers access to the tools they need to respond,” said Laine Young-Walker, MD, chair of psychiatry at the University of Missouri School of Medicine and principal investigator. “This program represents a significant opportunity to make positive progress on the leading cause of maternal mortality in our state.”

As with the MO-CPAP program, the new MO-PPAP will help primary care providers treat and manage behavioral health needs for pregnant and new moms through virtual expert consultations available with as little as 30 minutes notice. Follow-up care coordination will help providers connect patients with appropriate community-based behavioral health care options. Primary care providers that enroll with the program have access to ongoing educational opportunities and support. Using the power of the Missouri Telehealth Network, providers can receive behavioral health skills training, often including continuing medical education credits.

“Providers who enroll in the program will have access to free expert consultations, referrals to community-based resources, ongoing education and care coordination,” said Wendy Ell, executive director of the program for the University of Missouri. “As with our successful MO-CPAP program, all of this is offered at no cost to our participating providers and clinicians.”

MO-PPAP is offered through the University of Missouri School of Medicine as a collaborative partnership that includes the Missouri Telehealth Network, Behavioral Health Network of Greater St. Louis, Behavioral Health Network, Generate Health, SSM Health and the Washington University Perinatal Behavioral Health Service. The federal grant is part of a cooperative agreement with the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

###

About University of Missouri Health Care and the University of Missouri School of Medicine

MU Health Care and the MU School of Medicine form an academic health system dedicated to patient care, research and education. Caring for patients from each of Missouri’s 114 counties, both enterprises focus on advancing care for the simplest and most complex conditions, researching breakthroughs for today’s most prevalent health problems and training the next generation of health care providers. With a combined expertise of nearly 7,000 faculty physicians, researchers, nurses and other health care professionals, the academic health system educates over 2,000 students, residents and fellows each year and serves nearly 240,000 patients. For more information, visit muhealth.org and medicine.missouri.edu.