Our study on maternal mental health and climate change was featured by Moms Clean Air Force! Mental Health & Climate Change: New Research Highlights New Mothers’ Need for Support in a Warming World

“This study demonstrated that birth memory and trauma affected maternal functioning. The mother’s functional status in the postpartum period reflects the physical and psychosocial changes associated with pregnancy and birth. Therefore, for women to have positive birth memories and emotions when recalling the birth, their emotional health and physical care should be supported during labour…

Maternal functioning (BIMF) was superior at all time points in women that received in-home supportive counseling relative to those receiving usual care. Yet another testament to the importance of social support and education. Read more here.

The Cronbach’s Alpha for the BIMF in this small qualitative study indicates good reliability and is in line with other estimates.  Also, some groundbreaking themes regarding perinatal mental health and the effects of extreme weather are described within… See link: https://doi.org/10.1080/20008066.2023.2296818

While the many validation studies of the BIMF are not included in this scoping review, the authors illustrate that 6 of 7 “Becoming a Mother” (BAM) constructs are addressed within.  This is another testament to the content and construct validity of the measure. Read more here.

“Deligiannidis et al. (2021) discovered that zuranolone was associated with clinically meaningful enhancements in postpartum maternal functioning at day 45, as assessed by the patient-reported Barkin Index of Maternal Functioning score, suggesting an overall positive treatment effect to some extent (Barkin et al., 2010).” https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115640    

The BIMF will be a primary outcome in this study. “According to World Health Organization (WHO), the postnatal care provision aims to provide care and treatment with the highest quality and the least intervention to obtain the best health and well-being for the family. The present study aims to adapt international guidelines for the clinical…

In our recent study, we interviewed new moms residing in a drought/flood prone region of Australia regarding the effects of extreme weather on their mental health. Listen to what they have to say here.

“Specifically, more anxious or lower-postpartum-functioning individuals were more likely to report preferring a guide while older or more depressed individuals were less likely to report preferring a guide. These findings can inform clinical recommendations surrounding who is most likely to engage with, and thus benefit from, exclusively self-guided DMHIs during the postpartum period.” Read more…

“After adjusting the effect of socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics, the score of maternal functioning among mothers without posttraumatic stress disorder was statistically significantly higher than mothers with posttraumatic stress disorder diagnosis [β (95% CI) = 2.30 (0.39 to 4.20); p = 0.031]. The score of maternal functioning increased with the increase in the childbirth experience score [β (95% CI) = 7.34…