
At our program, research is more than data, it’s a mission to improve care and outcomes for individuals navigating mental health and substance use challenges, especially during and after pregnancy.
Arkansas faces one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the nation, particularly during the postpartum period.
Traditionally, care tends to taper off after delivery, our work focuses on what happens next. Our research shines a light on critical, often-overlooked mental health needs during this vulnerable time.
These groundbreaking studies are led by our physicians, who bring decades of experience in perinatal psychiatry.
Their work is supported by collaborative teams across psychiatry, obstetrics, anesthesiology, radiology, and neuroscience – ensuring our research addresses the full complexity with expertise from every angle.
What We Study
The WMHP conducts research on a wide range of issues impacting maternal mental health. This includes depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, psychosis, substance use, and long-term impact of trauma.
Our team has led important studies to better understand these risks and find ways to help. For example, we have explored:
• Suicidal thoughts and behaviors in the postpartum period, identifying which individual may be most vulnerable and how we can better screen for and respond to these warning signs.
• The impact of opioid use disorder during pregnancy and after childbirth, including how treatments like buprenorphine can improve both maternal and infant outcomes when properly supported.
• The relationship between cannabis use and mental health in pregnant women, helping to inform decisions during a time of mixed messages and rapidly changing legal landscape.
• The connection between maternal psychosis and SARS-CoV-2, offering early insights into how global health crises may increase mental health risks for mothers.
• The long-term impact of childhood trauma, studying how early life experiences influence parenting and mental health in individuals with substance use disorder.
• Innovative Research in Action. In one of our projects, we studied how different types of anesthesia during electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) could improve depression treatment in pregnant patients. In another, we used cutting-edge technologies like fetal brain imaging to better understand how opioid use during pregnancy might affect a baby’s developing nervous system.
Our commitment to the field
Our faculty contribute to national guidelines, teach future healthcare providers, and regularly share findings at conferences and through publications in journals like Addiction, Archives of Women’s Mental Health, and American Journal of Psychiatry.
Why It Matters
By focusing on real-world challenges, we are working to ensure maternal mental health is treated with the same urgency and care as any other health issue. Every mother deserves support, not only during pregnancy but throughout the critical postpartum journey.
Ongoing Study
We are also proud to be part of the nationally significant Healthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study, a large-scale collaboration that tracks early brain development in children from pregnancy through early childhood.
In Arkansas, the HBCD study is represented by Arkansas Children’s Hospital and UAMS.
This study helps us better understand how environment factors-including substance use, stress, and trauma-can influence brain development and long-term outcomes for children and families.
For more information, please visit HBCDStudy.org or email Akaraduta@uams.edu