Outcomes at the Motherhood Center: A Comparison of Virtual and On-Site Versions of a Specialized Perinatal Partial Hospitalization Program.

Objectives: Remotely administered mental health care is becoming increasingly common for treatment of a range of psychiatric disorders; however, there is a dearth of literature overviewing direct comparisons between remote and in-person interventions for treatment of Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs). The sudden advent of the Covid-19 pandemic in New York City forced an abrupt conversion for an intensive day treatment program for new mothers with PMADs, from an on-site to a remote program. Methods: The current report compares outcomes of 81 women who completed the program in-person to those of 60 women who completed the program remotely. Results: Improvement in depression scores was statistically superior in the remote program, and improvement in mother-infant bonding was statistically equivalent between the on-site and remote programs. Discussion: These findings indicate that specialized partial hospitalization treatment for individuals with moderate to severe psychiatric illness can be effectively provided via telehealth, thus offering improved convenience, accessibility, and safety without compromising care. We conclude that remotely administered group psychotherapy is an effective intervention for women with moderate to severe PMADs. Significance: Resources and treatments remain limited for perinatal women, with approximately 50% of women diagnosed with a perinatal mood and anxiety disorder (PMAD) not receiving adequate mental health treatment (Luca et al., 2020), with accessibility and viability as essential to appropriate treatment of PMADs. While the advantages of remotely administered mental health treatments have been established, there is a dearth of evidence of the utility and benefits of virtual mental health treatment for women with PMADs. Our analyses represent a significant contribution to the literature regarding treatment of women with severe PMADs, especially acute depressive symptoms, in the virtual milieu. Given the acuity and need for specialized treatment for at-risk individuals in the perinatal period, our findings are promising regarding the helpfulness of wrap-around virtual care as a viable alternative to intensive in-person treatment, despite disadvantages including lack of on-site nursery [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]