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Evaluation ViewAttendees 5

Women's Issues
Symposia

Symposium 31 - Perinatal Psychopathology: Correlates, Maintenance Factors and Treatment Considerations

Friday, November 15, 2024
11:30 AM – 1:00 PM EST
Location: Grand Ballroom A, Level 5, Downtown Marriott
CE: 1.5

Keywords: Perinatal, Risk / Vulnerability Factors, Translational Research
Level of Familiarity: Basic
Recommended Readings: Li, X., Laplante, D. P., Paquin, V., Lafortune, S., Elgbeili, G., & King, S. (2022). Effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy for perinatal maternal depression, anxiety and stress: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Clinical psychology review, 92, 102129.,   Sujan, A. C., Nance, N., Quesenberry, C., Ridout, K., Bhalala, M., & Avalos, L. A. (2023). Racial and ethnic differences in perinatal depression and anxiety. Journal of Affective Disorders, 334, 297-301.,   Webb, R., Uddin, N., Constantinou, G., Ford, E., Easter, A., Shakespeare, J., ... & Ayers, S. (2023). Meta-review of the barriers and facilitators to women accessing perinatal mental healthcare. BMJ open, 13(7), e066703,   Saxbe, D., Rossin-Slater, M., & Goldenberg, D. (2018). The transition to parenthood as a critical window for adult health. American Psychologist, 73(9), 1190.,  
Furtado, M., Chow, C. H. T., Owais, S., Frey, B. N., & Van Lieshout, R. J. (2018). Risk factors of new onset anxiety and anxiety exacerbation in the perinatal period: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of affective disorders, 238, 626–635. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2018.05.073

 

The perinatal period—including pregnancy through a year postpartum—represents a sensitive period for mental health problems given marked changes in psychosocial stress, hormones, social roles and sleep (Saxbe et al., 2018). Additionally, many individuals experience impairing symptoms of depression or anxiety for the first time while pregnant or postpartum (Furtado et al., 2018; Woody et al., 2017). Despite the elevated risk of psychiatric onset or recurrence, few studies have examined risk and protective factors unique to perinatal people. Aligned with this year’s theme of inspiring advocacy and innovation to advance CBT, this symposium includes five studies that address unique correlates, maintenance factors and equity considerations for perinatal people with anxiety, depression and insomnia. Collectively, results may help increase the precision of current evidence-based psychotherapies for perinatal people, an undertreated group who encounter disproportionate challenges accessing mental health care (Byatt et al., 2015; Daehn et al., 2022).
The first two presentations focus on unique risk factors for perinatal depression and anxiety- related symptoms. Krause et al. focus on the link between beliefs about the maternal body and depression, while Restivo Haney et al. examine whether pregnant people with a prior pregnancy loss may be more likely to report elevations of anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress, or obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Of translational importance, both presentations test whether self-compassion modifies the relationship between perinatal specific risk factors and mental health outcomes.
The second and third presentations apply established theoretical models of the etiology and maintenance of anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders to examine impairing pregnancy specific cognitions. Macri et al. test whether maintenance factors of anxiety disorders in the general population, such as distress tolerance or perfectionism, are also positively associated with pregnancy related worries, and whether mindful awareness might mitigate these associations. Cole et al. describe infant related intrusive thoughts of postpartum mothers and test whether perceived responsibility for the intrusive thoughts or one’s status as a first-time mother influence the extent to which thoughts are considered distressing. The final presentation will highlight the need for ethnic/racial diversity in perinatal treatment studies. Ponting et al. use a quasi-experimental design to test whether receiving a recruitment email that includes messages about health disparities in perinatal mental health can enhance enrollment in a randomized controlled trial for prenatal insomnia. Additional data driven strategies to increase the enrollment of marginalized pregnant people in treatment related research will be discussed.
Dr. Laura Sockol, an expert on evidence based psychological interventions during the perinatal period, will lead an integrative discussion of study findings. Dr. Sockol will connect identified risk and protective factors for perinatal psychopathology to the current treatment landscape and discuss opportunities to enhance the acceptability of evidence-based perinatal therapies.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, the learner will be able to:
  1. Identify risk and protective factors for adverse perinatal mental health including anxiety, depression, and obsessive compulsive disorder.
  2. Recognize manifestations of pregnancy-specific distress including of pregnancy-related anxiety and infant-related intrusive thoughts.
  3. Describe recruitment strategies to enhance ethnic/racial diversity in perinatal treatment research.
  4. Describe how existing evidence-based therapies can be applied to alleviate common perinatal mental health problems.
  5. Identify structural and attitudinal barriers to mental health care impacting perinatal people with psychopathology.

Presentations:

  • 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM EST
    (SYM 31) The Effect of Pregnancy Loss on Mental Health in a Subsequent Pregnancy

    Speaker: Juliana L. Restivo Haney, M.P.H. (she/her/hers) – West Virginia University

    Co-author: Shari A. Steinman, Ph.D. – University of Vermont

  • 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM EST
    (SYM 31) Rigid Maternal Body Beliefs, Self-compassion, and Perinatal Depression

    Speaker: Elizabeth Krause, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – Swathmore College

    Co-author: Kim Ngan Hoang, MS (she/her/hers) – University of Alberta

    Co-author: Clorinda Vélez, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – Quinnipiac University

    Co-author: Jane Gillham, PhD – Swarthmore College

  • 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM EST
    (SYM 31) Identifying Maintaining Factors of Pregnancy-related Anxiety

    Speaker: Jenna A. Macri, B.A. (she/her/hers) – University of Massachusetts Boston

    Co-author: Elizabeth H. Eustis, Ph.D. – Boston University Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders

    Co-author: Sarah Hayes-Skelton, Ph.D. – University of Massachusetts Boston.

  • 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM EST
    (SYM 31) Parity, Perceived Responsibility, and Infant-related Intrusive Thoughts in the Postpartum Period

    Speaker: Caroline Cole, M.A. (she/her/hers) – La Salle University

    Co-author: Randy Fingerhut, PhD (he/him/his) – La Salle University

  • 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM EST
    (SYM 31) Effects of Recruitment Messaging on Ethnic/racial Minority Enrollment in an RCT for Prenatal Insomnia: A Quasi-experimental Approach

    Speaker: Carolyn Ponting, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – University of California, San Francisco

    Co-author: Bernadette McClelland, B.A. – University of California San Francisco

    Co-author: Richelle Mah, B.A. – University of California, Los Angeles

    Co-author: Rachel Manber, PhD – Stanford University

    Co-author: Andrew Krystal, M.D., M.S. – University of California, San Francisco

    Co-author: Patricia Moran, Ph.D. – University of California, San Francisco

    Co-author: John Neuhaus, PhD – University of California, San Francisco

    Co-author: Nasim Sobhani, M.D. – University of California, San Francisco

    Co-author: Jennifer Felder, Ph.D. – University of California, San Francisco