Included in the January newsletter is reminders about Florida BH IMPACT resources, announcements of offerings for OUD trainings through the Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative, and the latest information about COVID-19 Vaccines and Pregnancy.

The Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative (FPQC) is partnering with the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) District XII, and American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM) to provide education on opioid use disorder specialized for women's health care providers.

The ASAM Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder (TOUD) Course is being held Saturday, February 13, 2021 from 8:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. ET for $25.
This course covers medications and treatments for OUD and provides 8 hours of required education needed to obtain the waiver to prescribe buprenorphine in an office-based setting.
Click here to visit the event site and register!
Click here to see the event flyer.

For the latest guidance from the CDC regarding the COVID-19 vaccine for those who are pregnant and breastfeeding, please click here. 

Click here to read ACOG's latest practice advisory regarding vaccinating pregnant and lactating patients against COVID-19. For ACOG's conversation guide, including points on risk, safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines during Pregnancy click here.

In our December Newsletter, learn about the upcoming Perinatal Mental Health Conference, Florida BH IMPACT resources, and recent findings about suicidality in childbearing individuals. Click here to view the December newsletter.

See more below:

JAMA Psychiatry recently published a study that characterized suicidality trends among childbearing individuals in the United States between 2006-2017. Admon et al. conducted a Maternal Behavioral Health Policy Evaluation, which included 595,237 commercially insured individuals between 15 and 44 years of age.

Key findings include: 

• Diagnoses of suicidality increased from 0.2% per 100 individuals in 2006 to 0.6% per 100 individuals in 2017.
• The diagnosis of suicidality with comorbid depression or anxiety increased from 1.2% per 100 individuals in 2006 to 2.6% per 100 individuals in 2017.
• Diagnoses of depression and/or anxiety increased over the study period from 12.1% per 100 individuals in 2006 to 20.9% per 100 individuals in 2017.

Researchers found that Non-Hispanic Black individuals, those with low-income, younger individuals, and those with comorbid anxiety, depression, or other serious mental illness, had larger escalations in suicidality between 2006-2017. This study's limitations include that it only utilized data from a single large commercial insurance provider. There has also been an increase in screening measures and awareness over the study period. These limitations suggest that these estimates in suicidality trends are conservative.
 

The Zero Suicide Toolkit provides a great framework for improving suicide care in health care settings.
Click here to learn more.

Click here to view the Florida BH IMPACT November Newsletter!

This month learn more about:

Florida BH IMPACT Resources like the Provider Portal, Website, and Florida Moms MH Resource Directory.

The CDC is working on learning more about COVID-19 during pregnancy. 
For the latest information on cases, data, and surveillance, click here!

A recent study released in the CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report analyzed 400,000 women aged 15-44 years with symptomatic COVID-19 between January 22 - October 3, 2020. This study found that severe illness, ICU admission, and death were more likely in pregnant women. Click here to read more.

In another study of 3,912 infants born to women infected with COVID-19, they found that 12.9% of the babies were born preterm compared to the national average of 10.2%. They tested 610 of the infants for COVID-19 and found that 2.6% were positive, primarily those born to women with infection at delivery.

As we learn more about COVID-19 and its risks associated with pregnancy, it is important that pregnant people continue attending appointments, getting recommended vaccines, and protecting themselves from the spread of COVID-19. Click here to read more information and guidelines regarding extra precautions for COVID-19 during pregnancy from the CDC.

Click here to see the Florida BH IMPACT October Newsletter!

More news featured below:

Therapy for Black Girls
Therapy for Black Girls, founded by Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, is a great resource.
Click the links below to reach their provider directory and blog with great information about women's mental health!

• Directory of Providers 
• Therapy for Black Girls Blog

Click here to visit their website!

Check out Florida BH IMPACT's September Newsletter for news and updates in behavioral health.
The Florida BH IMPACT Provider Portal is now active - sign up today!
Click here to access the newsletter.

More news below:

ANXIETY SCREENING IS NOW RECOMMENDED FOR ALL WOMEN AND ADOLESCENT GIRLS OVER 13

The Women's Preventive Services Initiative (WPSI) released a recommendation in June, suggesting screening for anxiety for all women and adolescent girls aged 13 years or older who are not currently diagnosed with anxiety disorders, including pregnant and postpartum women. This recommendation is specifically targeted at clinicians providing preventive health care to women!  
Click here to read the article in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Psych News published an article explaining this recommendation further.
 

STUDIES SHOW THAT TRANSMISSION OF COVID-19 THROUGH BREAST MILK IS UNLIKELY

Breast milk is an unlikely source of transmission for COVID-19 based on several studies. Click here to read the scientific brief on the topic from WHO. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a study last month, finding that transmission of the virus through breast milk is unlikely based on a study of 18 infected women. Click here to read more.

The Florida Maternal Mental Health Collaborative hosted the 6th Annual Perinatal Mental Health Conference in Tampa, FL and online December 9, 10, and 11. Our theme this year was "Perinatal Mental Health Equity: Enhancing Care Access and Quality". The keynote speaker, Amalia Londoño Tobón, MD along with our other wonderful speakers contributed to a dynamic conversation around health equity for perinatal patients in Florida and beyond. We look forward to continuing this work with you all in 2022!

Case Report: Implementation of a Multi-Component Behavioral Health Integration Program in Obstetrics for Perinatal Behavioral Health was published in Frontiers in Psychiatry. This paper provides a look at the implementation phase of Florida Behavioral Health IMPACT (Florida BH IMPACT), a program led by Dr. Heather Flynn, Dr. Amandla Shabaka-Haynes, and Dr. Kay Roussos-Ross.

View quarterly issue [pdf]

Amanda Sesker, a postdoctoral scholar in Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine, participated in the National Institute on Aging’s prestigious Butler-Williams Scholars Program at the end of August.  “It is a very competitive program that only accepts the most promising early career researchers who have the potential to make a significant impact in aging research,” said College of Medicine Professor Angelina Sutin, who brought Sesker into her lab in the fall of 2020. “Amanda is the first post-doc from my lab to get accepted into the program. Many alums from the [Butler-Williams] program, however, have made significant contributions to the field of aging."

The intensive, three-day program provides early-career researchers and scientists the opportunity to meet and network with established researchers in the field of aging research, learn more about NIA science and funding opportunities, and sharpen grant writing skills. Sesker will use this experience in the preparation of a K99 grant to be submitted in February of 2022.

September was National Suicide Prevention Month, and Florida State University has many programs and resources that provide tools and resources in spreading awareness, and many free or reduced cost resources for suicide prevention and enhancing mental health.

“FSU provides many effective tools for treating depression and dramatically reducing suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Depression cannot currently be cured but can be managed so that people can live very productive and happy lives," says Dr. Kozel, a Professor and the Mina Jo Powell Endowed Chair in Neurological Sciences at Florida State University who works in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine.

Resources available for confidential communication include the FSU Counseling and Psychology Services, who are available to talk 24/7 at 850-644-8255. University Health Services can be reached at 850-644-6230. Students in an emergency are encouraged to contact the Florida State Police Department at 850-644-1234. These resources for mental health and suicide prevention can be used to refer a friend as well.