A Peer-to-Peer, Longitudinal Reproductive Psychiatry Educational Curriculum for Obstetrics/Gynecology Residents

Pregnant patients with psychiatric diagnoses are commonly advised to stop their psychiatric medications. Few studies assess the knowledge of, attitude toward, or comfort levels of obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN) residents in managing psychiatric conditions, which carry adverse and potentially life-threatening risks to mother and fetus. A gap remains between evidence advocating for active psychopharmacological treatment during pregnancy and implementation of curricula targeting OB/GYN physicians in mental health. The authors' goals are to assess the knowledge, attitude, and comfort that OB/GYN residents have toward assessing and managing active psychiatric conditions in pregnant/postpartum women and to develop an educational, case-based intervention targeting these conditions in the perinatal/postpartum period.

Eight perinatal/postpartum psychiatric topics were developed into interactive cases designed for OB/GYN residents. Two weeks before the curriculum administration, OB/GYN residents were surveyed on prior knowledge in, attitudes toward, and comfort levels in assessing and discussing psychiatric conditions in pregnant patients. The assessment was administered again after the intervention to assess its effectiveness.

Pre- (N = 19) and post-intervention (N = 15) surveys of residents were analyzed. Most residents (94%) felt it was both important and their responsibility to discuss mental health conditions with pregnant patients. Comfort levels with counseling psychiatric patients increased for all eight topics after the educational intervention was implemented, with statistically significant increases (p < 0.05) for five of the topics.

OB/GYN residents feel responsible for caring for pregnant patients with psychiatric illness, and case-based interventions offer an interactive, helpful tool for increasing residents' knowledge and comfort level in treating this patient population.