SLUCare Women’s Pavilion in Richmond Heights has added psychiatric care, becoming the first center of its kind in St. Louis to offer patients this service. The new center is a full-service obstetric and gynecologic facility on the campus of SSM St. Mary’s Health Center.

“The special idea behind this brand-new, state of the art women’s pavilion is to be a `one-stop shopping,’ so to speak, that is, to have all women’s medical needs be addressed in one location,” said Michal Artal, an associate professor of psychiatry at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. Artal is a trained psychoanalyst and SLUCare physician who specializes in women’s mental health.

Artal added that in addition to the psychiatric services at the women’s pavilion, services include nutritional and dietician services, exercise prescription for the management of obesity and osteoporosis, and the plans are to include additional medical specialties as well.

“We feel that having a psychiatrist be physically available at the center facilitates both the referral process by the other physicians, and the acceptance of such a referral by the woman patient, because I am right there and part of the team,” Artal said.

Postpartum depression affects between 10 and 15 percent of new mothers. Without diagnosis and treatment, the woman can become severely ill and even dangerous to herself and those around her.

A more serious, but less common form of mental illness affecting new mothers is postpartum psychosis. Signs include delusions, sleeplessness and sometimes unusual and uncontrollable levels of energy and activity.

Media coverage of Andrea Yates, the Texas mother who allegedly drowned her five children during a postpartum psychotic episode, has caused an increase in awareness of mental illnesses associated with women.

“There are still common views seeing pregnancy and childbirth in an idealized way,” says Artal. “This makes it even more difficult for women and men to recognize the need for help when a woman is expected to feel only a sense of fulfillment and serenity.

“I certainly hope the awareness will continue to increase,” Artal added.

“Unfortunately it has taken such a tragic case to have this effect. I have seen a significant impact of this case (Yates) both in terms of public interest as reflected by the media’s interest, as well as on women themselves who are questioning their reactions and emotions,” she said.