Building toward a standard model for perinatal mental healthcare

R Christopher Sheldrick¹Megan Deichen Hansen²Nicole Cirino³Mary Kimmel⁴Courtney King⁵Deirdre Logan¹Rena Menke⁶Karen Tabb^7*

• ¹UMass Chan Medical School, Shrewsbury, MA, United States
• ²Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, United States
• ³Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, United States
• ⁴University of North Carolina System, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
• ⁵Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, United States
• ⁶University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
• ⁷University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, United States

Background: Healthcare decision-making relies on models that synthesize complex components such as disease epidemiology, diagnostic accuracy, and treatment efficacy. A healthcare model serves as a framework to integrate health systems research, biological understanding, and diverse perspectives on health, enabling decision-makers to optimize access, quality, cost, and equity. The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine underscored the need for a shared conceptualization in behavioral sciences to unify definitions and facilitate data synthesis. To achieve this, a standard model of perinatal mental healthcare is imperative. Objective: We propose the development of a standard model of perinatal mental healthcare, analogous to the Standard Model of Particle Physics, which has guided scientific discovery by defining building blocks, highlighting knowledge gaps, and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. A standard model for perinatal mental healthcare should function similarly—identifying key components, delineating evidence gaps, and inspiring critical inquiry. Methods: Our work is informed by our role as an advisory council supporting Perinatal Psychiatry Access Programs, which enhance healthcare systems by providing frontline clinicians with psychiatric consultation, training, and resources. These programs are designed to support evidence-based interventions across screening, therapy, and pharmacotherapy, and have been successfully implemented in multiple states and internationally. Conclusion: Establishing a robust standard model of perinatal mental healthcare is essential for addressing population-level mental health challenges. Furthermore, collaboration and governance structures for shared resources—akin to Elinor Ostrom's principles of common-pool resource management—are essential for sustainability. Scientific advances in systems modeling, teamwork, and knowledge-sharing frameworks will be critical to developing an effective, widely accepted model.