title: Improving perinatal depression care: the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project for Moms.
abstract: Perinatal depression is common and associated with poor birth, infant and child outcomes. Screening for perinatal depression alone does not improve treatment rates or patient outcomes. This paper describes the development, implementation and outcomes of a new and low-cost population-based program to help providers address perinatal depression, the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project (MCPAP) for Moms.
  
  
  
  MCPAP for Moms builds providers' capacity to address perinatal depression through (1) trainings and toolkits on depression screening, assessment and treatment; (2) telephonic access to perinatal psychiatric consultation for providers serving pregnant and postpartum women; and (3) care coordination to link women with individual psychotherapy and support groups.
  
  
  
  In the first 18months, MCPAP for Moms enrolled 87 Ob/Gyn practices, conducted 100 trainings and served 1123 women. Of telephone consultations provided, 64% were with obstetric providers/midwives and 16% were with psychiatrists. MCPAP for Moms costs $8.38 per perinatal woman per year ($0.70 per month) or $600,000 for 71,618 deliveries annually in Massachusetts.
  
  
  
  The volume of encounters, number of women served and low cost suggest that MCPAP for Moms is a feasible, acceptable and sustainable approach that can help frontline providers effectively identify and manage perinatal depression.
authors.affiliation: University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, MA, 01655, USA. Electronic address: nancy.byatt@umassmemorial.org.
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Byatt
authors.affiliation: University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, MA, 01655, USA.
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Biebel
authors.affiliation: University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, MA, 01655, USA.
authors.forename: Tiffany A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Moore Simas
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership, Beacon Health Options, 125 Lincoln Street, Boston, MA, 02111, USA.
authors.forename: Barry
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sarvet
authors.affiliation: Tufts School of Medicine, 750 Chestnut Street, Springfield, MA, 01199, USA.
authors.forename: Marcy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ravech
authors.affiliation: University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, MA, 01655, USA.
authors.forename: Jeroan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Allison
authors.affiliation: Tufts School of Medicine, 750 Chestnut Street, Springfield, MA, 01199, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Straus
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008404:Massachusetts; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D058996:Quality Improvement; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Depression; Perinatal; Postpartum; Pregnancy; Treatment