Mercedes J. Szpunar, MD | Source | Director of the Maternal Mental Health Program at Hoag Health System

Dr. Mercedes Szpunar, MD, PhD, is the Physician Director of the Maternal Mental Health Program at Hoag. She completed her MD/PhD at the University of Rochester and specialized in psychiatry and reproductive mental health at UC San Diego. She later completed a Women’s Health research fellowship at the San Diego VA, focusing on mental health in pregnant and postpartum women veterans.

Previously, Dr. Szpunar served as interim director of Hoag’s Maternal Mental Health clinic and was on faculty at Harvard Medical School, where she led research on psychiatric medication safety during pregnancy and studied neuroactive steroids as potential treatments for reproductive-related depression.

Her clinical focus includes perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, PMDD, and perimenopausal depression. She emphasizes lifestyle-based approaches like nutrition, exercise, and sleep to support mental wellness. She is the recipient of multiple national research awards and has authored 10 first-author scientific publications.