Collaborative Care in Perinatal Mental Health: Implementation and Insights From the UCLA MOMS Clinic

Untreated peripartum psychiatric illness is a major public health concern, with significant effects for both pregnant women and their infants. Despite high levels of need, barriers to care continue to obstruct access for women in the preconception, pregnant, and postpartum periods. Evidence from randomized controlled trials suggests that perinatal collaborative care service models can improve access and reduce mental health burden for peripartum women with posttraumatic stress and depression. However, the literature describing the implementation of such programs outside of formal clinical trials is sparse. Here, we report on our service model at the Maternal Outpatient Mental Health Services (MOMS) clinic, a collaborative care clinic within the Obstetrics and Gynecology department. We describe how we implement the core, evidence-based pillars of our model, including (1) integration into primary care, (2) coordinated care support, (3) attention to the parent-infant relationship, (4) trauma-informed care, and (5) measurement-based care. We report on descriptive data at intake from 204 pregnant and postpartum women who presented to our clinic between August 2023 and June 2024. We conclude with a reflection on the successes and challenges of this model as well as a discussion about future directions for the clinic.