Sep 14, 2026 · 40 min · 10 segments
**You've heard of an OB-GYN. You've probably heard of a psychiatrist. But have you ever heard of a reproductive psychiatrist?** If the answer is no, you're not alone. In this episode, Sarah sits…
Claire SmithGuestSarah ParkhurstHost... um, which a lot of people may s- they're going, "Okay." And I think it's an important part, especially of listeners, to hear this part, is it's so blurry, and we're seeing it in the trial.
We're seeing it just when you're maybe looking for any kind of care, is sometimes people put blanket statements of what they cover, right? Maternal mental health is sh- is, like, the hot buzzword now, right, to say.
Um, kinda just kinda talk about what if, if you, if they can't get to a U, a reproductive psychiatrist that specifically says they're fellowship-trained or, you know, has that title, and maybe they're assuming a psychiatrist would do, or a psychiatrist should have had this experience, right? Like-
Some have the opportunity for a lot of exposure, like my program does, um, or MUSC's program does, I should say.
But I do think that most psychiatrists or mental health providers, like maybe your option is a nurse practitioner or a PA, you know, that those are the realistic options for a lot of people, particularly if you have Medicaid, um, is just asking what their comfort level is in perinatal psychiatry, in treating pregnancy, in knowing what to do if, if a pregnancy occurs, because half of them are unplanned.
Um, and there are a lot of psychiatrists, as much as I appreciate and love all my colleagues, they're, they're my biggest problem because they will start medications and just sort of, uh...
They have no idea what to do if and when someone gets pregnant, and then they freeze and say, "Stop all your medication" or "I don't know what to do.
You'll have to find, you'll have to find somebody else." And that's not always an easy thing to do.
And so patients can get the runaround, get the wrong advice, which is usually fear-based advice, um, but lack of that exposure and training like you're talking about.
Just asking, they should be able to say tr- pretty truthfully whether they are or are not comfortable.
... um, which a lot of people may s- they're going, "Okay." And I think it's an important part, especially of listeners, to hear this part, is it's so blurry, and we're seeing it in the trial.
We're seeing it just when you're maybe looking for any kind of care, is sometimes people put blanket statements of what they cover, right? Maternal mental health is sh- is, like, the hot buzzword now, right, to say.
Um, kinda just kinda talk about what if, if you, if they can't get to a U, a reproductive psychiatrist that specifically says they're fellowship-trained or, you know, has that title, and maybe they're assuming a psychiatrist would do, or a psychiatrist should have had this experience, right? Like-
Some have the opportunity for a lot of exposure, like my program does, um, or MUSC's program does, I should say.
But I do think that most psychiatrists or mental health providers, like maybe your option is a nurse practitioner or a PA, you know, that those are the realistic options for a lot of people, particularly if you have Medicaid, um, is just asking what their comfort level is in perinatal psychiatry, in treating pregnancy, in knowing what to do if, if a pregnancy occurs, because half of them are unplanned.
Um, and there are a lot of psychiatrists, as much as I appreciate and love all my colleagues, they're, they're my biggest problem because they will start medications and just sort of, uh...
They have no idea what to do if and when someone gets pregnant, and then they freeze and say, "Stop all your medication" or "I don't know what to do.
You'll have to find, you'll have to find somebody else." And that's not always an easy thing to do.
And so patients can get the runaround, get the wrong advice, which is usually fear-based advice, um, but lack of that exposure and training like you're talking about.
Just asking, they should be able to say tr- pretty truthfully whether they are or are not comfortable.
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