Mental health continues to dog the fight against the coronavirus, but another ongoing mental health epidemic is finally seeing some progress. Perinatal or postpartum depression (PPD) effects tens of thousands of women every year. According to a recent study, up to 20 percent of all women giving birth will develop postpartum depression, with 40 to 80 percent of those experiencing moderate to severe PPD, among other perinatal psychiatric disorders.
Why does this problem persist? Northwell Health is dedicated to finding out. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded Northwell’s science arm, The Feinstein Institutes of Medical Research, $2.7 million to study the pathophysiology — or manifestations — of perinatal depression in women. The study will look to determine the relationships between sex steroids, brain chemistry, and brain circuitry in women with perinatal depression and those without.
“Expecting mothers and new moms are susceptible to depression and it is crucial to understand the condition’s origins and how it manifests to develop new treatments,” said Dr. Kristina Deligiannidis, MD, director of Women’s Behavioral Health at Zucker Hillside Hospital and associate professor at the Feinstein Institutes. “With the NIH’s support, we will be able to design future clinical studies to intervene sooner and help women suffering from depression.”
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It’s Time to Remove the Stigma Behind Postpartum Depression
MENTAL HEALTH: postpartum depression
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"After the Roof Caved In" on Mental Health
A commitment to mental health is something no one should take lightly, especially after a year when the vast majority of us struggled with our mental health. Luckily, institutions like Northwell are putting in the time and resources necessary to improve the lives of the population they serve. Dowling would say it’s a commitment that starts from the top. If you want to learn more about Dowling’s fascinating poverty-to-success story, his struggles and triumphs, and why he cares so much about the mental health of others, pick up a copy of “After the Roof Caved In” wherever books are sold.
VIEW BOOK ONLINE
In the meantime, Northwell has been offering women suffering from PPD advanced treatments while simultaneously working to eliminate the stigmas surrounding PPD. Zucker Hillside’s women-only inpatient unit for perinatal psychiatric disorders is the first of its kind in New York State and offers women a specially trained interdisciplinary team of psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers and rehabilitation therapists, something only an integrated health system like Northwell can offer.
These ideals, compassionate care, innovation, and research has long been the intersecting mission of Northwell, reflecting President and CEO Michael Dowling’s own beliefs about how a healthcare system should work.
“While working in (NY State government),” writes Dowling in his newly released memoir After the Roof Caved In, “I had come to believe that large, integrated health systems, able to serve any and all patient needs, would be the way care would be delivered in the future.”
His prescription was prescient. Dowling took that belief and incorporated those ideas into what would later become Northwell Health.
“An integrated system,” writes Dowling, “would be capable of providing all of a patient’s medical needs from birth to death—primary and specialty care of all kinds, including world-class care for stroke, heart disease, cancer, mental health, and more. The ideal would serve all patients, irrespective of circumstance, with a focus on prevention and wellness, while providing care in a coordinated way.”
with her physician, Tamara came to understand that her feelings of hopelessness and sadness were valid and treatable. She got the treatment she needed and recovered.
Integrated health doesn’t stop at care. Feinstein Institutes researchers, in conjunction with the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, are developing the innovations that will continue to improve outcomes for women suffering from PPD in the future. Outlined in a recent study published by the Lancet, Feinstein Institutes researchers found that a brexanolone injection reduced depressive symptoms in women suffering from moderate and severe PPD. As the first medication specifically designed for the treatment of PPD that’s also approved by the FDA, this groundbreaking discovery will help alleviate a vast amount of mental suffering.
A commitment to mental health is something no one should take lightly, especially after a year when the vast majority of us struggled with our mental health. Luckily, institutions like Northwell are putting in the time and resources necessary to improve the lives of the population they serve. Dowling would say it’s a commitment that starts from the top. If you want to learn more about Dowling’s fascinating poverty-to-success story, his struggles and triumphs, and why he cares so much about the mental health of others, pick up a copy of “After the Roof Caved In” wherever books are sold.
VIEW BOOK ONLINE
CONTINUED LEARNING
Northwell’s treatment of perinatal depression is a perfect embodiment of how an integrated system can reach this goal. Consider the case of Tamara Oliver. The mother of triplets began experiencing severe systems of PPD after giving birth to them at a Northwell hospital. Under Northwell’s fully integrated system, a woman like Tamara experiencing PPD has access to a wide variety of specialized treatments for PPD while also receiving the best healthcare for her baby. She was able to get treatment in Zucker Hillside’s outpatient program, where, working
Helping people like Tamara is a personal goal of Dowling’s.
“An increasingly important part of our mission within our communities is the epidemic of mental illness—to help those suffering from anxiety, depression, and other emotional conditions,” he writes in After the Roof Caved In. “This issue is personal with me in light of my childhood in Knockaderry and my own bout of depression after my divorce. I have made a major commitment to treating patients with these conditions, including in a primary care setting where behavioral health specialists are now part of the primary care team. We not only treat patients with mental illness, we also work to reduce the stigma attached to it.”
This May is postpartum depression awareness month. By raising awareness of this issue, we’re doing our part to remove the stigma. For patients like Tamara, having an integrated healthcare system to depend on makes all the difference.
This May is postpartum depression awareness month. By raising awareness of this issue, we’re doing our part to remove the stigma. For patients like Tamara, having an integrated healthcare system to depend on makes all the difference.
“I would like to tell the women out there, ‘It’s OK,’” says Tamara. “‘You’re OK. And you’re not alone.’”
In the meantime, Northwell has been offering women suffering from PPD advanced treatments while simultaneously working to eliminate the stigmas surrounding PPD. Zucker Hillside’s women-only inpatient unit for perinatal psychiatric disorders is the first of its kind in New York State and offers women a specially trained interdisciplinary team of psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers and rehabilitation therapists, something only an integrated health system like Northwell can offer.
These ideals, compassionate care, innovation, and research has long been the intersecting mission of Northwell, reflecting President and CEO Michael Dowling’s own beliefs about how a healthcare system should work.
“While working in (NY State government),” writes Dowling in his newly released memoir After the Roof Caved In, “I had come to believe that large, integrated health systems, able to serve any and all patient needs, would be the way care would be delivered in the future.”
His prescription was prescient. Dowling took that belief and incorporated those ideas into what would later become Northwell Health.
“An integrated system,” writes Dowling, “would be capable of providing all of a patient’s medical needs from birth to death—primary and specialty care of all kinds, including world-class care for stroke, heart disease, cancer, mental health, and more. The ideal would serve all patients, irrespective of circumstance, with a focus on prevention and wellness, while providing care in a coordinated way.”
with her physician, Tamara came to understand that her feelings of hopelessness and sadness were valid and treatable. She got the treatment she needed and recovered.
Integrated health doesn’t stop at care. Feinstein Institutes researchers, in conjunction with the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, are developing the innovations that will continue to improve outcomes for women suffering from PPD in the future. Outlined in a recent study published by the Lancet, Feinstein Institutes researchers found that a brexanolone injection reduced depressive symptoms in women suffering from moderate and severe PPD. As the first medication specifically designed for the treatment of PPD that’s also approved by the FDA, this groundbreaking discovery will help alleviate a vast amount of mental suffering.
Vaccines and Social Media Are Helping Mental Health Post-Covid
The true toll of COVID-19 remains to be seen as millions of us continue to struggle with our mental health.