Improving the Treatment of Perinatal Depression: Pharmacotherapy in Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women

In mid November 2019, Project Kesher traveled to Moscow, Russia, with Shari Lusskin, M.D, a world-renowned expert in reproductive psychiatry. Dr. Lusskin presented a groundbreaking lecture in the region entitled "Improving the Treatment of Perinatal Depression: Pharmacotherapy in Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women." 150 doctors, medical students, and doulas from four countries participated in person and through live streaming. People flew in from Siberia, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, and Ukraine for the three-hour program. Entire departments of psychiatrists at hospitals in Volgograd and Astrakhan, Russia, watched the program together live on YouTube and submitted questions for discussion. Reproductive psychiatry is uncharted territory in the region and this conversation started by Dr. Lusskin in Russia and the region can save countless women from unnecessary suffering.