What We’re Reading
By Joy Burkhard, MBA
Founder and Executive Director, 2020 Mom
This edition of What We’re Reading covers the role of obstetricians as the primary medical home during the perinatal period and addresses the role OBs can begin to play on children's brains noting “Obstetrics is primed for the shift that is happening in pediatrics, which is moving from its traditional focus on physical health to a coordinated, whole-child, 2- or multigeneration approach.” Read more and see other articles which crossed my desk below.
OBSTETRIC CARE
The Transition to Parenthood in Obstetrics: Enhancing Prenatal Care For 2-Generation Impact
Obstetrics, the specialty overseeing infant and parent health before birth, could be expanded to address the interrelated areas of parents’ prenatal impact on children's brain development and their own psychosocial needs during a time of immense change and neuroplasticity. Obstetrics is primed for the shift that is happening in pediatrics, which is moving from its traditional focus on physical health to a coordinated, whole-child, 2- or multigeneration approach.
INTERRELATED
When a Parent’s Mental Health Struggle Affects Their Kids
Many kids are not grappling in a vacuum. Their families, too, have struggled — sometimes amplifying the emotional toll on a household.
FMLA
New DOL Guidance Addresses Mental Health Leave Under FMLA
New DOL guidance reiterates that a mental health condition may qualify as a serious health condition under the FMLA, and employers should be prepared to properly handle leave requests involving the mental health of an employee or an employee’s family member.
RESEARCH
Maternal Deprivation: The Effects of the Fundamental Absence of Love
According to the maternal deprivation hypothesis, infants regardless of whether they are puppies, monkeys or humans will not develop normally unless they receive the warm loving attention of a mother figure to whom they can become attached.
Babies Conceived by Fertility Treatments May Suffer Mental Health Issues
Researchers believe that mental health issues from fertility treatments could be due to different “mechanisms.”
Are Parents Contributing to the Youth Mental Health Crisis?
More support for caregivers can help reduce psychological maltreatment.
ACCESS TO CARE
Coordinating Service Delivery and Public Health for Maternal and Child Health
This article discusses an approach to addressing poor health outcomes for maternal and child health: creating and strengthening collaborations among state Title V agencies, state Medicaid programs, public health departments, and other state agency programs.
The US Mental Health Hotline Network Is Expanding, but Rural Areas Still Face Care Shortages
…the U.S. is a patchwork of resources for crisis assistance, so what comes next isn’t universal. The level of support that 988 callers receive depends on their ZIP code.
SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH
A Strong Start in Life: How Public Health Policies Affect the Well-Being of Pregnancies and Families
This report from the Center for American Progress, details how an understanding how the key social determinants of health—including housing, employment, and education—affect perinatal health is critical to ensuring that federal policies support healthy babies and families.
RACE
Addressing Racism-Related Stress and Trauma in Psychotherapy
Researchers model the Psychology of Radical Healing, an antiracist and liberatory approach to psychotherapy for marginalized clients.
GENDER-BASED DISPARITIES
It’s Time to Think of Women: Mental Health Services for First-Episode Psychosis
It is time for gender-sensitive first-episode psychosis services.
Doubling Down on Women’s Health Innovation
As investors and advocates in women’s health, we view the recent SCOTUS decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade, as a significant step back in women’s health and rights. Now is the time to capitalize on the growing momentum in women’s health innovation and investment to meet new and existing gaps in care...Merely three or four years ago, women’s health was uniformly viewed as “niche,” with few interested investors, pharma companies looking to divest women’s health portfolios and little public discourse or recognition of women’s unique health needs.
HEALTH EQUITY
How the Shades of Blue Project Addresses Maternal Mental Health in Houston
Addressing Black maternal mental health is mandatory. It's not optional. We cannot continue knowing there is a certain underserved population being affected by something and not doing anything about it.
TREATMENTS
What to Know About Chronic Depression
Chronic depression or persistent depressive disorder (PDD) is a long-term type of depression. Adult symptoms typically persist for at least 2 years. Treatment for PDD usually involves a combination of psychotherapy and medication.