Perinatal Psychiatry: Where Psychoanalytic Theory, Neuroscience, and Integrated Clinical Psychiatry Meet

In May 2015, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommended that all pregnant and postpartum women be screened at least once during the perinatal period (pregnancy and 12 months postpartum) for depression and anxiety.1 From the perspective of integrative care, this is a wonderful recommendation. However, from a more psychodynamic and neurobiological perspective, this recommendation falls short of what is actually needed to improve the lives of many mothers as well as their infants and children. Perinatal psychiatry is one area in psychiatry where our understanding of human growth and development requires knowledge from psychoanalytic concepts (specifically attachment theory), neuroscience (specifically the neurodevelopment of the neonate and the infant), and a sincere collaborative and integrated effort with our colleagues in obstetrics and pediatrics.