Reproductive Psychiatry Studies

Reproductive Psychiatry Studies are conducted under the Reproductive Psychiatry Research Program (RPRP), a division of the University of Virginia’s Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, under the direction of Dr. Jennifer L. Payne, MD.

Reproductive Psychiatry is a sub-specialty that focuses on the mental health needs and treatment of people who experience a psychiatric illness that is influenced by times of reproductive hormonal change, which can include the pre-menstruation, pregnancy and postpartum, and perimenopause time periods.

The RPRP performs cutting edge research studies on mood disorders related to these reproductive hormone fluctuations to help understand the genetic, biological, and psychological underpinnings of these disorders and to identify best practices for the management of these disorders.

Reproductive related mood disorders include:

• Postpartum depression
• Premenstrual dysphoric disorder
• Perimenopausal depression
• Other related disorders