What We're Reading
By Joy Burkhard, MBA
Founder and Executive Director, 2020 Mom
2020 Mom does a monthly news round up, so you don’t have to.
These are the articles that caught our attention these last 45 days. Share which of these articles most intrigues you in the comments below.
A Step to Ease the Pandemic Mental Health Crisis
A set of simple measures known as psychological first aid or mental health first aid can enable people to help family, friends, and others in their communities who experience psychological distress...
When a Psych Bed Search Proves Difficult, These Patients Have a Partner
A recent program in Massachusetts to help patients needing inpatient psychiatric care is already making inroads, and could become a model for other places around the U.S. The state-funded effort — called Expedited Psychiatric Inpatient Admissions — relies on a small team of searchers to find inpatient beds, and the system requires hospitals to expedite placements for patients who have boarded in an ER for 60 hours. “It’s a supreme form of advocacy.”
Battling Depression with Botox?
Botox is a well-known rejuvenation treatment that can help our patients look and feel younger, but could the effect of this treatment go beneath the surface and help our patients who are struggling with depression? Listen to the podcast or read the transcript to learn more about this potential promising finding.
Heart Study Yields New Insights About Depression
More than 20 years ago, clinicians found that a pro-inflammatory drug used to treat some diseases could cause depression. Since that time, researchers have wondered about the link between inflammatory molecules and depression.
New Research from the CWMH: The Course of ADHD During Pregnancy
This link summarizes several studies and articles regarding the treatment of ADHD during pregnancy. The first is from Allison Baker at the Center for Women’s Mental Health — the first study to prospectively follow women with ADHD during pregnancy. While we typically suggest that women with mild ADHD discontinue stimulants during pregnancy, this study suggests that this practice may increase risk for depression and worse quality of life in women with ADHD.
Read More →
Loneliness in Pregnant and Postpartum People/Parents of Children 5 and Younger
The experience of loneliness during pregnancy and in new parenthood has not been targeted and developed as a program of research. Evidence indicates that the incidence of loneliness is highest in those aged 16 to 24 and that loneliness rises during transitional periods. The scarcity of parenthood-loneliness inquiries leaves a gap in our understanding of the well-being of parents and their children.
This research scoping review aims to capture the state of the current literature on loneliness in pregnancy and new parenthood in order to identify gaps and make recommendations for future areas of study and related interventions.
Social Isolation and Loneliness: Imperatives for Health Care in a Post-COVID World
The importance of social determinants of health has been gaining traction in the health care sector during the last decade. Social determinants of health have been found to be responsible for 80% to 90% of health outcomes, and an abundance of research has demonstrated that no matter the advancements in medicine and health care, the health of the individuals and communities will not improve if these root-cause social factors are not addressed. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is highlighting one of these factors: social isolation.
Social isolation, defined as an “objective deficit in the number of relationships with and frequency of contact with family, friends, and the community,” is associated with increased rates of loneliness and suicide.
Expanding Postpartum Medicaid Benefits to Combat Maternal Mortality and Morbidity
The 60-day cutoff for postpartum Medicaid coverage does not reflect the medical and socioemotional needs of the postpartum period. Postpartum care is often absent or incomplete, with particularly low rates among Black and Brown mothers. Although postpartum mental health screenings are effective at detecting postpartum depression, screening is not the same as treating maternal depression.
One notable exception is California, which has extended postpartum Medicaid eligibility specifically for women with maternal mental health conditions through the state’s Provisional Postpartum Care Extension. Colorado Medicaid also offers a Special Connections program that provides limited services for pregnant women with alcohol or substance use disorders during the year after birth.
New Research - Sleep & Anger
Compelling new research provides more evidence than ever just how important sleep is for emotional regulation. Participants were woken after five minutes into REM sleep and asked to rate both their dream and corresponding emotions. Those with greater levels of brain activity in the right frontal cortex were more likely to experience anger. This is especially interesting, because that region, known as the frontal alpha asymmetry has previously been linked to both issues with anger and self regulation.
Progress Toward a Safer Psychedelic Drug to Treat Depression and Addiction
Doctors and researchers have been wary of using the drugs in treatment because of their side effects. Interestingly, a chemically tweaked version of the psychedelic drug ibogaine seems to relieve depression and addiction symptoms without producing hallucinations or other dangerous side effects.
Too Big to Ignore: 7 Recommendations to Address Our Growing Mental Health Crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the ongoing mental health crisis in the US. Policy makers can wait no longer. David Wennberg and Patrick J. Kennedy propose seven steps to take toward a mental health care overhaul now.
What Do Women Want? Looking Beyond Patient Satisfaction
This thematic analysis produced the following themes for women’s priorities:
Need for individualized attention to maternal physical and emotional care;
Fear of providing inadequate care for the newborn, including establishing infant feeding; and
Transitioning to parenting as a new mother versus as an experienced mother.
Themes for nurses’ priorities included:
Safety issues around sleep and breastfeeding,
Transitioning to parenting with an emphasis on maternal self-care, and
Addressing barriers to effective discharge education.
Response comparisons between the women/partners and nurses suggest that there is a disconnection between women’s and nurses’ priorities and expectations for care during the postpartum period.
Pregnancy Associated Epigenetic Markers of Inflammation Predict Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in Response to Discrimination
This study indicates pregnancy associated epigenetic markers of immunosuppression and inflammation play an important role in resilience or sensitivity, respectively, to prenatal stress including response to discrimination.
Patient-Reported Experiences of Discrimination in the US Health Care System
In this nationally representative cross-sectional survey study, 21% of 2137 US adult survey respondents indicated that they had experienced discrimination in the health care system, and 72% of those who had experienced discrimination reported experiencing it more than once. Racial/ethnic discrimination was the most frequently reported type of discrimination respondents experienced.
Trends in Alcohol Use Among Pregnant Women in the US, 2011–2018
Alcohol is a teratogen, a leading preventable cause of intellectual disability in the U.S., and the cause of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. With alcohol increasing among reproductive-aged this study investigated increased alcohol use during pregnancy using national data from 2011 to 2018.
Do you come across news you think is worth sharing with the maternal mental health community?
If so, please consider emailing the article/study to Joy@2020mom.org.