Key Topics in Perinatal Mental Health

Mauro Percudani is currently the Director of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy and President of the Italian Psychiatric Association – Lombardy Section. He is also a member of the executive board of the Italian Association of Social Psychiatry and is coordinating various projects on psychiatry epidemiology, early intervention in psychiatry, perinatal psychiatry and social psychiatry.Alessandra Bramante is a Psychologist, Cognitive Psychotherapist, Clinical Criminologist at Policentro Donna Ambulatory in Milano, Italy. Holding a PhD in Neuroscience, she is the President of the Marcé Society Italian Regional Group and the Scientific Coordinator of the Master of Advanced Training in Psychopathology and Perinatal Psychiatry. Valeria Brenna is a Psychologist at the Mental Health Department and Addiction Services, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy. Holding a qualification in briefpsychotherapy and having completed advanced training in psychology, psychopathology and perinatal psychiatry, she currently serves on the executive board of the Marcé Society Italian Regional Group.Carmine Pariante is a Professor of Biological Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, and Consultant Perinatal Psychiatrist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.  His work focuses on depression and fatigue, with a particular interest in the perinatal period and in subjects with medical disorders. He has published more than 400 papers, and is also the appointed Editor in Chief on the journal Brain Behaviour and Immunity, and a 2018/2019/2020 Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher.  He has received numerous awards for his research, most recently the 2012 “Academic Psychiatrist of the Year” Award from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the 2015 Anna-Monika Prize forResearch on Depression, the 2016 PNIRS Normal Cousins Award for Research in Psychoneuroimmunology, the 2017 Andrea Leadsom Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Infant Mental Health, and the 2017 NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Award.

• Part 1: Perinatal Psychopathology, beyond postpartum depression: Depression in Pregnancy: Molecular, Clinical and Psychosocial Effects. Depression and postpartum period. Bipolar disorders. Anxiety disorders. Obsessive-compulsive disorders. Thoughts of harm and OCD. Sleep disorders and peripartum. Eating disorders in pregnancy and post partum period. Puerperal psychosis. Personality disorders in perinatal period. Trauma, Stress & Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during childbearing years. Maternal suicide and filicide. Perinatal disorders in fathers. The mother-infant bonding disorders.- Part 2: Prevention, risk detection and treatment: Ten years of outpatient activity with perinatal disorders: an Italian experience.. Screening during perinatal period: “Salvagente mamma”, ATS Bergamo. Psychotropic drugs in pregnancy and breastfeeding. Drugs in pregnancy and postpartum. The influence of culture on perinatal mental health. Prevention and treatment of perinatal mentaldisorders in migrant women. Prevention and treatment in peripartum: the Multicentric Observatory for perinatal depression, Policlinico Tor Vergata. “Oramamma”: a volunteer association for maternal mental health. A Perinatal Mental Health Service in Japan. Mother and baby unit at the Bethlem Royal Hospital. A day hospital service for mothers and babies: Barcelona as a model for southern Europe. Mother-infant inpatient units in France.- Part 3: Research and peripartum: Research topics in perinatal mental health: the state of the art. Biomarkers, between  diagnosis and prognosis. Stress and attachment in postpartum psychosis. Domestic violence and perinatal mental health. Adolescence, reflective functioning, maternal attachment, mind-mindedness and emotional availability. Preterm infants, early relationship and bodily self. Cancer and peripartum: psychological aspects and mother-infant relationship.