5 ways COVID-19 might reshape maternal health

Teletherapy. One thing Dr. Karen Horstexpects to stick around after the pandemic? Therapy from home. Considering it a gamechanger, Horst, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine and staff psychiatrist at Texas Children’s Hospital, said she is “kind of shocked we didn’t come to this earlier” — letting harried moms and pregnant women do therapy from home. “It’s way better for moms, for new moms, for women at the end of their pregnancy, to not have to come in person to a mental health appointment,” she said. Although some patients will prefer to be in person or need in-person care, “I’d say like 99 % of our moms are happy with doing mental health visits over telehealth,” she said.