Promising Practice

MCPAP for Moms

State/Jurisdiction: Massachusetts
Setting: Clinical
Population: Medical & Public Health Professionals Women & Maternal
Topic Area: Access to Quality Healthcare Mental Health & Substance Use Workforce Development
NPMs: NA

At least, 1 in 5 women will experience a mental health or substance use disorder in pregnancy or postpartum (ACOG CO No.757, 2018; Gavin et al., 2005; Fawcett et al., 2019). MCPAP for Moms builds the capacity of perinatal providers to effectively prevent, identify, and manage their pregnant and postpartum patients' mental health and substance use disorders (SUD). With repeated calls to the MCPAP for Moms, providers gradually increase their sense of self-efficacy in managing perinatal mental health and substance use disorders. Through MCPAP for Moms, providers are given the tools to implement screening and treatment recommendations from leading organizations such as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, American Academy of Pediatrics, Center for Medicaid Services, and American Medical Association into the fabric and workflows of their practice. MCPAP for Moms is a pioneer as the first perinatal psychiatry access program. Since its’ inception, MCPAP for Moms has shifted paradigms on how to address depression in obstetric settings, impacted state and national policies regarding perinatal mental health, and increased access to perinatal mental health care for thousands of pregnant and postpartum individuals. The goal of MCPAP for Moms is to assure that every perinatal individual has access to quality mental health care during the perinatal period. To accomplish this, MCPAP for Moms offers three main services to providers in the commonwealth of Massachusetts: practice education, perinatal psychiatric consultation, and resource and referral. Through trainings and educational materials, the program has helped practices implement universal screening and assessment. MCPAP for Moms helps providers improve their knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy in addressing perinatal mental health conditions using a trauma-responsive and strength-based approach. The recommendations and services MCPAP for Moms provides encourages early detection and treatment of mental health and substance use disorders. When perinatal individuals and their families are proactively engaged in care, the burdensome effects of untreated depression, other mental health, and substance use disorders on families are minimized.


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Implementation Handout
Provider Toolkit


CONTACT INFORMATION
Massachusetts Department of Mental Health
Nancy Byatt, DO, MS, MBA, FACLP
nancy.byatt@umassmemorial.org
508-856-5812
Practice Website