Woman’s Hospital (Woman’s) is on a mission to care for women and babies while destigmatizing mental health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, maternal mental health conditions, such as anxiety, perinatal and postpartum depression, and birth-related PTSD, are among the most common complications of pregnancy and childbirth, affecting one in five women. Of those affected, 75 percent go untreated. Additionally, mental health conditions are a leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity in the United States.
“Providers in our community have long been concerned about the distance that pregnant and postpartum patients had to travel to get mental health placement, and that they would have the appropriate level of obstetric oversight while in care,” says Cheri Johnson, Woman’s chief nursing officer. “Typically, mental health facilities that house both men and women can cause discomfort for pregnant and postpartum women who are trying to do the work to be healthier.”
With a mission to improve the health of women and infants, Woman’s used a shelled-out space to create the Perinatal Mental Health Unit (PMHU), a 10-bed inpatient unit for pregnant and postpartum women with a primary diagnosis of a psychiatric nature. Woman’s PMHU is one of only a few nationwide.
The PMHU is Louisiana’s first inpatient mental health unit that is solely dedicated to serving the specialized needs of women who are pregnant, up to one year postpartum or have suffered a pregnancy loss within the last year. It opened in early September 2024 and features 9,130 square feet of indoor space, a 1,670-squarefoot secure outdoor terrace, and 350-squarefoot private bedrooms and bathrooms. Each bedroom includes a single bed, nightstand, television, desk, artwork and a rocking chair.
“One of the best features of these rooms is that they are outfitted to allow families – including new babies – to come visit,” says Johnson. “This is obviously not a space for babies to stay 24/7, but we feel that infant bonding is an important part of mom’s healing experience. It also allows mothers to continue breastfeeding uninterrupted.”
Along with lactation specialists, patients have access to dietitians, physical therapists, and the wide array of resources already onsite at Woman’s. Individual and group therapies including art, music and yoga are provided, a care team is assigned to each patient, and the unit is staffed by a highly trained and comprehensive care team of psychiatrists, dual trained nurses skilled in both obstetrical and psychiatric care, psychologists, social workers, nurse practitioners, specialty trained mental health technicians and lactation consultants. In addition to the inpatient PMHU, Woman’s also has the outpatient Behavioral Health Clinic located on Bluebonnet staffed with psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, and social workers for mothers who need continued care, including medication management and counseling.
Since admitting their first patient on Sept. 3, 2024, the team at Woman’s PMHU has seen nearly 100 pregnant and postpartum mothers from throughout Louisiana as well as Texas and Alabama. So far, 48% of patients have been postpartum and 52% have been pregnant – further highlighting the need for such care.
Learn more at womans.org
