Johnson Center for Pregnancy and Newborn—Mental Health Services

Building a family is not always easy. It is common for parents to experience a period of psychological adjustment that can include feelings of mental distress. In addition, some couples and individuals face added challenges, such as struggling to conceive, receiving the hard news that their developing baby has a health problem prenatally or will upon birth, or experiencing a pregnancy complication. With difficult news, an existing mental health condition may worsen. If you find yourself in one of these situations, you might be experiencing challenging emotions, including stress, grief, sadness, and guilt, that can manifest in different ways, such as depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder.

We're here to help. We believe mental health support is an important part of caring for you before, during, and after pregnancy.

Our Johnson Center for Pregnancy and Newborn Services is a national frontrunner in integrating mental health support services for patients and families into their medical care from pre-conception and pregnancy through birth, NICU hospitalization (for newborns), and after delivery (postpartum).

We are also pleased to share professional resources with health care providers across the United States to help move mental health care forward for people building families.

Johnson Center mental health care highlights

Integrated mental health support for Johnson Center patients and families. At Stanford Medicine Children’s Health’s Johnson Center for Pregnancy and Newborn Services, we offer mental health screenings and support, including psychological and psychiatric care in the form of individual and couple therapy and/or support groups for our patients who would benefit from this type of care. The following services are available throughout your family-building journey:

Pre-conception: In our Stanford Medicine Children’s Health Fertility and Reproductive Health Services, we offer mental health support to individuals and couples who experience infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss.

Pregnancy: In our Obstetrics clinic and our Fetal and Pregnancy Health Program, we perform mental health screenings for all pregnant individuals, and we provide mental health care and medication guidance for those with identified mental health needs. This includes support for individuals and couples receiving an unexpected prenatal diagnosis.

Hospital stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU): In the Stanford Children’s NICU, we provide mental health care for families whose child requires an extended stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and who are identified as needing psychological support.

Postdischarge: In our Obstetrics clinic, we extend mental health services for the early weeks after delivery, and we partner with Stanford Medicine’s Women’s Wellness Clinic to help provide consults and support for our patients who are experiencing mood disorders and postpartum depression.

Expert mental health caregivers. At our Johnson Center for Pregnancy and Newborn Services, you will receive mental health support from a sophisticated team of mental health experts who provide specialized, cutting-edge mental health care for individuals and couples who are seeking to or building families, just like you.

Rich resources and education for you during your family-building journey. Mental health services for growing families are not very common in maternity and children’s hospitals nationwide. We also support you with patient and family mental health resources, and our social workers connect you with mental health providers and/or support groups in your community.

If you are a current Johnson Center for Pregnancy and Newborn Services patient and would like to learn more about our mental health services, talk with your medical provider.