140: The Motherhood Center

There’s a new model of care available to moms and new families. The Motherhood Center in NYC hopes to be the prototype for superior support and services for other facilities around the world. Today’s show highlights this center and the important work being done there in perinatal and postpartum support.   Dr. Catherine Birndorf is cofounder and medical director of The Motherhood Center in NYC. It’s the first of its kind as a treatment center for pregnant and new moms who are experiencing anxiety and depression. There aren’t many centers like this one, offering holistic and long-term care. We’re going to hear how The Motherhood Center is providing unique care and how Dr. Birndorf is changing the face of perinatal mental health care.   Dr. Birndorf is the Founding Director of the Payne Whitney Program at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where she is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Birndorf is a board member of Postpartum Support International, a non-profit organization for awareness, prevention, and treatment of mental health issues related to childbearing worldwide. For 10 years, Dr. Birndorf was a regular mental health columnist for Self Magazine, and has appeared on numerous TV programs, including the Today Show, Good Morning America, MSNBC, CBS Evening News, and CNN. Her first book, The Nine Rooms of Happiness, which she co-authored with Lucy Danzinger, was a NY Times bestseller, published in 2010. She has co-authored with Alexandra Sacks, What No One Tells You: A Guide to Your Emotions from Pregnancy to Motherhood, which will be released in April.    Show HIghlights:   How Dr. Birndorf blends her two interests, obstetrics and psychiatry, into what she terms “reproductive psychiatrist,” to help women before, during, and after birth How she got into this field and began teaching it as a subspecialty at Cornell The passion and fire for women’s health Her other endeavors in related fields and services The importance of getting the information out about simple things like medications while pregnant, etc. Parts of the Motherhood Center’s work, like consultation services and frontline provider information How the Center began in NYC in 2014-2015: “a NOT feel like a hospital place” How patients feel like they are being mothered How the Center caters to moderate to severe perinatal or postpartum anxiety and depression The intensive work that expedites recovery How passion and creativity drive the model One of the goals---to replicate the model in other places Part of the next phase: mentoring others How Dr. Birndorf sees her new book as yet another way to help people The book, which covers the ways people classify motherhood and the mental phases of the process that can be a struggle for many How the book covers the challenges in a unique way that no other book has done     Resources: https://www.themotherhoodcenter.com/ Instagram: @themotherhoodcenter Facebook: @motherhoodnyc Twitter: @MotherhoodNYC   The Nine Rooms of Happiness by Catherine Birndorf and Lucy Danzinger   What No One Tells You: A Guide to Your Emotions from Pregnancy to Motherhood by Catherine Birndorf and Alexandra Sacks