Roshni Koli, MD, explains a tech-enabled collaborative care model for perinatal depression, anxiety

A tech-enabled, coach-driven collaborative care program integrated into an obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN) practice was associated with reductions in perinatal depression and anxiety symptoms, according to a retrospective cohort study published in the Maternal and Child Health Journal.

The study reviewed electronic medical records from 185 patients enrolled in a pilot perinatal collaborative care model (CoCM) delivered by FamilyWell Health in partnership with a large ob-gyn practice in Massachusetts. English-speaking adults who screened positive for depression (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale score ≥10) were referred to the program, which provided telehealth sessions with a certified perinatal behavioral health coach or licensed therapist, medication management, and monthly electronic symptom assessments.

Roshni Koli, MD, child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist; Chief Medical Officer, Meadows Institute, and study author, framed the clinical stakes of untreated perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs).

“When depression and anxiety are underrecognized and undertreated, it results not just in clinical impairment for moms and for women, but it also results in clinical health outcomes,” she said. “They are more prone to have a child that is underweight, that is born preterm, and then those babies are oftentimes at greater risk for anxiety disorders themselves as they get older.”

Study outcomes

More than 80% of referred patients enrolled, and more than 70% completed their intake session within 1 week. According to the publication in Maternal and Child Health, PHQ-9 scores decreased by 1.3 points per month (95% CI [−1.5, −1.2], p < .001), as did GAD-7 scores (95% CI [−1.5, −1.2], p < .001). Depression treatment response was demonstrated in 47% of patients, while anxiety treatment response was demonstrated in 52% of patients. Symptom remission occurred within a mean of 8 sessions with a therapist or 9 sessions with a coach. Most patients (77%) received services from a certified coach rather than a therapist (23%).

Addressing access barriers

Koli positioned the model as a response to a shortage of perinatal mental health specialists, allowing patients to receive care within their existing OB/GYN setting.

“Collaborative care is a real-world example that is population health-based. It is a team-based approach to addressing mild to moderate behavioral health conditions within the primary care space, and so in this case it allows patients to receive their care where they are already receiving the rest of their perinatal care, in their ob-gyn [office],” she said.

She contrasted this with usual care, in which patients are often handed a list of community providers and encounter long waitlists. Under the CoCM, she noted, a patient who screens positive “can get connected to a behavioral health care manager or a perinatal coach, who can then be able to better understand what may be going on and even start some brief intervention and treatment.”

Reference:

Steele K, Zimmermann M, Moore Simas TA, et al. Clinical Outcomes of a Tech-enabled Perinatal Collaborative CareProgram to Treat Depression and Anxiety. Maternal and Child Health Journal. Published online April 9, 2026. Accessed July 8, 2026. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10995-026-04245-4