Finding New Ways to Identify and Treat Mothers with Childbirth Related PTSD

The Dekel Lab, led by Sharon Dekel, PhD, performs clinical and translational research for the early detection, prevention, and treatment of childbirth-related post-traumatic stress disorder (CB-PTSD), which affects up to 11% of postpartum women.

Dekel’s research aims to develop and guide the implementation of evidence‐based screening and therapies for CB-PTSD in maternity wards in hospitals.

There is evidence that the psychological well-being of mothers can have a beneficial effect on the neurological development of their babies, particularly in the crucial weeks and months after birth.

Conversely, mothers who develop a psychological disorder after birth have an increased risk of passing on similar disorders to their children.

Dekel believes that by identifying and treating mothers with CT-PSTD early on, the whole family will benefit. “If we improve the wellbeing of the mother, we could improve the wellbeing of the child,” Dekel says. “There is a lot of data to support that.”

Recent work:

In a new study in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Dekel and team found strong evidence that brief psychological interventions delivered after traumatic childbirth can reduce maternal PTSD symptoms. See press release.

They have recently published two additional studies looking at existing PTSD questionnaires and screening tools to see if they can also be applied to maternal populations at risk for childbirth-related PTSD, with encouraging results. 

Additional links:

Through the Magnifying Glass: The Dekel Lab and the Psychiatry of Childbirth

Helping Mothers Recover When the Trauma of Birth Lingers

A Research Center Looking to Improve Maternal Health through Reproductive Psychiatry

At the Ammon-Pinizzotto Center for Women’s Mental Health at MGH, researchers focus on mood disorders across the life cycle of women during times of critical hormonal changes. This includes the premenstrual dysphoric disorder , pregnancy and postpartum associated psychiatric illnesses, depression during the perimenopausal transition ; the cornerstone of the Center’s clinical work is the management of psychiatric disorders during pregnancy and the postpartum period.

Lee Cohen, MD, is the Director of the Ammon-Pinizzotto Center for Women's Mental Health at Mass General, a Physician Investigator (Cl) of Psychiatry and the Edmund N. and Carroll M. Carpenter Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Cohen has worked at Mass General his entire career and is a pioneer in maternal mental health. He helped to create the National Pregnancy Registry for Psychiatric Medications to help clinicians understand more about the reproductive safety of psychiatric medications such as antidepressants, ADHD medications, and atypical antipsychotics.

Cohen and team have found that women are still suffering from the lack of treatment of postpartum depression and they are working to reduce barriers to treatment for this disorder.

“Although we have gotten very good at screening for postpartum depression in American birthing persons, the number of these patients who actually get connected to treatment is too few,” he explains.

Recent work: 

In a new qualitative study from the Ammon-Pinizzotto Center, a team led by Cohen and Rachel Vanderkruik, PhD, investigated postpartum psychosis—a severe psychiatric illness that occurs in the postpartum period.

The study sheds light on how new mothers and families are impacted by this serious illness and emphasize the importance of improving care.

Additional Links: 

The Ammon-Pinizzotto Center for Women’s Mental Health at MGH Website

Virtual Rounds at the Center for Women’s Mental Health