WisBusiness: The Podcast with Christina Wichman, director of the Periscope Project

This week’s episode of “WisBusiness the Podcast” features Dr. Christina Wichman, an associate professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin and director of the Periscope Project.

“Most of our providers — our obstetricians, midwives, family practice docs, even psychiatrists — have very little education about the mood and anxiety disorders that can occur during pregnancy and postpartum,” she said. “And so it really has become a very subspecialty niche of medicine in which a lot of providers simply don’t feel comfortable treating.”

The Periscope Project aims to help out those providers by providing expert advice on mental health for pregnant and postpartum women. The year-old project recently surpassed some early enrollment milestones, with over 400 physicians currently taking part.

“This area of medicine, perinatal psychiatry, is changing incredibly rapidly,” she added. “What physicians maybe were taught or learned during their residency or early clinical years is very different than it was 10 or 15 years ago.”