Substance Use Disorders During Pregnancy and Postpartum

Jessica Coker, M.D.

Dr. Coker graduated from the UAMS psychiatry resident program in 2016. She then completed a year as an instructor, focusing on psychiatric disorders during pregnancy and the postpartum period. She has been awarded multiple grants focusing on substance use disorders during the perinatal period, most recently working with a national network including the NIH. She became the medical director of the Women’s Inpatient Unit at PRI in 2019, which is an inpatient unit dedicated to the treatment of women with neuropsychiatric illnesses. The Women’s Inpatient Unit has also become a referral source across the State for pregnant and postpartum women in need of inpatient psychiatric treatment. Dr. Coker works closely with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Institute on Digital Health and Innovation to provide consultation services with UAMS and throughout the State and to update the ANGELS psychiatry guidelines on an annual basis. She is available to provide consultation on psychiatric conditions pertaining to pregnancy and the postpartum period through the ANGELS call center, angels.uams.edu.