Research

Research is at the heart of what we do. Through our evidence-based approach, we aim to transform perinatal care, improve family well-being, and prevent mental health challenges like postpartum depression, ensuring healthier futures for both parents and their children.

CTtP houses our (1) PerinatalPathways lab, where we study perinatal mental health (PMH) interventions and parenting before birth — the influence of pregnant individuals’ psychobiological experiences on children’s brain-behavior development and (2) Women’s Mental Health @Ob/Gyn (WMH @Ob/Gyn), our clinical service integrated into obstetrical and gynecological practices and through which we conduct health services research.

Perinatal Pathways Lab

At our Perinatal Pathways Lab, we conduct research studies with pregnant women and other pregnant individuals and their babies to improve their well–being and their future children’s lives. For over 25 years, we have contributed to the scientific evidence showing that when pregnant individuals experience stress, anxiety, and depression, it affects them as well as their offspring in utero. There is a ‘third pathway’ for the familial inheritance of risk for psychiatric illness beyond shared genes and the quality of parental care: the impact of prenatal distress on fetal and infant brain–behavior development.

Our projects involve fetal assessment, newborn neuroimaging, genetics, epigenetics, psychoneuroimmunology, mother–child interaction, and supportive interventions to (1) characterize maternal experiences and the effects on children’s development, and (2) promote maternal psychobiological health for the mother–child dyad.

Prevent Postpartum Depression

Addressing emotional distress prior to significant mental health conditions is a key approach to fostering well-being during the transition to parenthood. We developed PREPP (Practical Resources for Effective Postpartum Parenting), a dyadically-oriented protocol for the prevention of postpartum depression, which begins by supporting maternal mental health during pregnancy. PREPP uses targeted psychotherapy and infant behavior interventions in a brief and accessible model, which can be offered in conjunction with routine perinatal medical visits. Visit the Perinatal Pathways Lab to learn more.

Women’s Mental Health @Ob/Gyn (WMH @Ob/Gyn)

WMH @Ob/Gyn is a clinical service addressing the devastating problem of women’s inability to access quality mental health care and use insurance to afford it. Mental health experts providing therapy, psychopharmacology, and support groups, are integrated into obstetrical and gynecological practices as direct hires. Consistent with post-pandemic patient preferences, care is largely via telehealth. WMH @Ob/Gyn realizes cost efficiencies, leveraging the Ob/Gyn practices’ administrative infrastructure managing insurance-based health care. A pivotal component of the CTtP, WMH @Ob/Gyn is a financially viable, scalable model. 

This pictogram illustrates some of our preliminary treatment utilization outcomes.