From pregnancy to the postpartum: Unraveling the complexities of symptom profiles among trauma-exposed women.

Background: Many women experience new onset or worsening of existing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms during pregnancy and the early postpartum period. However, perinatal PTSD symptom profiles and their predictors are not well understood.

Methods: Participants (N = 614 community adults) completed self-report measures across three methodologically similar longitudinal studies.

Experiential avoidance as a mediator of risk factors for higher order internalizing psychopathology in the perinatal period.

Objectives: Perinatal psychopathology can be damaging. This study examined the strength of the associations between risk factors and all perinatal mood and anxiety disorder symptoms while assessing the mediating effect of experiential avoidance.

Method: Participants (N = 246) completed assessments during pregnancy (28-32 weeks) and the postpartum (6-8 weeks).

Collaborative decision making improves interpersonal psychotherapy efficiency: A randomized clinical trial with postpartum women.

Background: Randomized controlled trials of Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) and other psychotherapies for depression have required strict adherence to protocol and do not allow for clinical judgment in deciding frequency of sessions. To determine if such protocols were more effective than allowing therapists to use their clinical judgment, we compared "Clinician-Managed" IPT (CM-IPT), in which clinicians and patients with postpartum depression were allotted 12 sessions and determined collaboratively when to use them, to a once weekly 12 session protocol ("Standard IPT"). We hypothesized that CM-IPT would be more efficient, requiring fewer sessions to reach an equivalent acute outcome, and that CM-IPT would be superior over 12 months because "saved" sessions could be used for maintenance treatment.

Relationship Factors in Internet-Delivered Psychological Interventions for Veterans Experiencing Postpartum Depression: Qualitative Analysis.

Background: Internet-delivered psychological interventions (IPIs) have been shown to be effective for a variety of psychological concerns, including postpartum depression. Human-supported programs produce better adherence and larger effect sizes than unsupported programs; however, what it is about support that affects outcomes is not well understood. Therapeutic alliance is one possibility that has been found to contribute to outcomes; however, the specific mechanism is not well understood.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Listening Visits for Mothers of Hospitalized Newborns.

Background: Emotional distress is frequently experienced by mothers whose newborns are hospitalized in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Among these women, there is a critical need for emotional support conveniently delivered at the newborn's point of care by a trusted and medically knowledgeable professional: a NICU nurse. One promising way to enhance in situ delivery of emotional care is to have a NICU nurse provide Listening Visits (LVs), a brief support intervention developed expressly for delivery by nurses to depressed postpartum women.

Examining the Structure of Distress Tolerance: Are Behavioral and Self-Report Indicators Assessing the Same Construct?

Distress tolerance, or the ability to tolerate physically and emotionally aversive experiences, is a target of psychological intervention in contextual behavioral science. It has been conceptualized as a self-reported ability, as well as a behavioral tendency, and operationalized with a wide variability of questionnaires and behavioral tasks. The current study aimed to investigate whether behavioral tasks and self-report assessments of distress tolerance measure the same underlying dimension, two correlated dimensions, or whether method factors accounted for covariation above and beyond a general content dimension.

Risk for trauma-related distress following difficult childbirth: Trajectories of traumatic intrusions across 2 years postpartum.

There is heightened risk for maternal posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the perinatal period. However, it is unclear whether pregnancy and childbirth uniquely contribute to PTSD symptoms above and beyond elevations in negative affectivity that commonly occur among postpartum women (e.g.

The structure of mood and anxiety disorder symptoms in the perinatal period.

Background: The perinatal period is increasingly recognized as a vulnerable time for the development and exacerbation of psychiatric symptoms. Research has often focused on perinatal depression, with much less information on perinatal anxiety. This study examined the psychometric structure of all internalizing (anxiety and mood disorder symptoms) in the perinatal period.

Examining psychological inflexibility as a mediator of postpartum depressive symptoms: A longitudinal observational study of perinatal depression.

Background: Depression is a common, serious complication during the postpartum period. Predictors of postpartum depression characterize who is at-risk for persistent symptoms. This study explored how psychological inflexibility affects depressive symptoms at 4 and 12 weeks postpartum.

Family treatment for postpartum depression: acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary clinical outcomes.

The level of support from family members-and degree of family dysfunction-can shape the onset and course of maternal postpartum depression (PPD). In spite of this, family members are typically not included in treatments for PPD. Developing and disseminating intervention approaches that involve partners or other family members may lead to more effective treatment for perinatal women and potentially promote improved family functioning and wellbeing of multiple members of the family.

Obsessive-compulsive and related disorder symptoms in the perinatal period: prevalence and associations with postpartum functioning.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms are more likely to develop or be exacerbated during pregnancy and the postpartum period, which can cause significant distress and impairment. However, the disorders grouped with OCD in the DSM-5, obsessive-compulsive and related disorders (OCRD; e.g.

The role of prenatal posttraumatic stress symptoms among trauma exposed women in predicting postpartum depression.

Research suggests that a history of trauma and prenatal posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) are predictive of postpartum depression (PPD). Pregnant women at risk for PPD are often identified through depression symptom measures, while PTSS also may help to identify those at increased risk. Women who do not endorse depressive symptoms, though experience PTSS, may be missed when screening is exclusively based on depressive symptoms.

Mood during pregnancy: Trends, structure, and invariance by gestational day.

Mood dynamics during pregnancy are important in understanding a critical period of human development, and also as a model for biopsychosocial stress processes. Here, in four large samples of smartphone app respondents (differentiated by time period and number of responses), we modeled mood for each gestational day during the pregnancy period. We aimed to delineate patterns of changes in mood across pregnancy, as well as potential changes in measurement properties across the period.

Depression and anxiety symptoms across pregnancy and the postpartum in low-income Black and Latina women.

Underserved women of color experience high rates of perinatal affective disorders, but most research to date on the natural history of these disorders has been conducted on White women. The present study investigated longitudinal changes in anxiety and depression in a sample of perinatal non-Hispanic Black and Latina women. Categorical (yes/no) measures of positive anxiety and depression screens, as well as total symptom scores, were measured longitudinally across the perinatal period in 178 women (115 non-Hispanic Black, 63 Latina) using the CAT-MH™, a computerized adaptive test.

A dyadic approach to stress and prenatal depression in first-time parents: The mediating role of marital satisfaction.

In the field of perinatal clinical psychology, most studies focus on mothers' psychological states during pregnancy, neglecting the role of their partners. This study used an Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Model to evaluate the mediating role of dyadic satisfaction on the relationship between perceived stress and prenatal depressive symptomatology in both members of male-female-mixed-gender couples who were expecting their first child. One hundred thirty-eight couples in their third trimester of pregnancy were asked to complete questionnaires about perceived stress, dyadic adjustment, and depression.

The efficacy of antidepressant medication and interpersonal psychotherapy for adult acute-phase depression: study protocol of a systematic review and meta-analysis of individual participant data.

Background: Antidepressant medication and interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) are both recommended interventions in depression treatment guidelines based on literature reviews and meta-analyses. However, 'conventional' meta-analyses comparing their efficacy are limited by their reliance on reported study-level information and a narrow focus on depression outcome measures assessed at treatment completion. Individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis, considered the gold standard in evidence synthesis, can improve the quality of the analyses when compared with conventional meta-analysis.

Perinatal mental health around the world: priorities for research and service development in the USA.

The perinatal mental health field is growing rapidly, which has yielded innovations in both prevention and treatment. To realise the potential of these innovations to transform clinical practice, further investment in research and clinical service development is required. Clinical services must be expanded by providing increased access to specialty care and education for front-line clinicians.

Maternal depression and breastfeeding in home visitation.

Background: Home visitation is a popular mechanism for supporting parents and their young children. Breastfeeding is often promoted by home visitors due to its health benefits. However, maternal depression may interfere with breastfeeding.

Treating postpartum depression in rural veterans using internet delivered CBT: program evaluation of MomMoodBooster.

Depression in the postpartum period impacts approximately 13-26% of the general population. This number can be much higher for rural veteran women who face additional barriers to accessing specialized mental health services due to isolation and cultural factors. This study reports on a program evaluation of MomMoodBooster, a coach-supported internet-delivered CBT program for the treatment of maternal depression in veteran women.

A model of risk for perinatal posttraumatic stress symptoms.

Existing research suggests that childbirth may be a significant trigger of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). The current study examined whether subjective birthing experiences and objective childbirth characteristics mediated the association between predisposing psychosocial factors measured during pregnancy (e.g.

Perinatal anxiety and depressive symptoms and perception of child behavior and temperament in early motherhood.

The perinatal period is a vulnerable time for the development of psychopathology, particularly mood and anxiety disorders. In the study of maternal anxiety, important questions remain regarding the association between maternal anxiety symptoms and subsequent child outcomes. This study examined the association between depressive and anxiety symptoms, namely social anxiety, panic, and agoraphobia disorder symptoms during the perinatal period and maternal perception of child behavior, specifically different facets of development and temperament.

Obsessive-compulsive symptoms, intrusive thoughts and depressive symptoms: a longitudinal study examining relation to maternal responsiveness.

Background: The postpartum period is a vulnerable time for the development of depression. While perinatal depression has been well studied, intrusive thoughts related to the infant and classic obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms (e.g.