About Us
The Center: Our Vision, Mission and Approach
VISION and MISSION
We envision a future in which parents and children thrive from the very start — parenting begins before birth. Our work harnesses the multiple health care touchpoints of the pregnancy and postpartum periods to support families through community and multidisciplinary collaborations.
OUR APPROACH
As a research-to-impact center, we leverage our decades of perinatal research, mental health expertise, and cross-sector collaborations to develop, elevate, and disseminate accessible resources and tools for obstetricians, midwives, birth workers, and others serving people in the transition to parenthood.
Through a multi-dimensional approach, we:
- Generate and share research on perinatal mental health and its two-generation impact on brain development to inform improved patient care models.
- Develop and scale integrated care models that embed maternal and family mental health into obstetric practices and help remove barriers to access.
- Translate evidence into practical tools and training for obstetrical clinicians and health care teams, including the Blueprint for enhanced perinatal care.
- Maintain a National Directory of perinatal health resources and interventions to facilitate social prescriptions for families.
- Invest in promising community-based interventions and research initiatives that advance the perinatal care ecosystem through national annual awards.
- Foster a national network of leaders and providers in the perinatal care ecosystem that proactively shares emerging practices and resources.