Maternal Mental Health and OT

Research is backing up what many of us are experiencing in our communities: the pandemic is exacerbating mental health issues.

And, one can imagine how this would be true for new mothers—so many families’ birth experiences have been drastically impacted by COVID protocols, followed by increased isolation once the family arrives home.

The article we will be discussing in this one-hour podcast course is a call to action to support the positive mental health of new mothers, particularly during this pandemic.

Whether you approach this topic as a pediatric OT, an OT who specializes in maternal mental health, a parent yourself, or simply an involved community member, I think there are important takeaways for all of us.

After reviewing the article, we will welcome Dr. Carlin Reaume, OTD, OTR/L, PMH-C, PCES. Carlin is an occupational therapist, maternal wellness specialist, and owner of Supported Mama. She and I will discuss ways you can support maternal wellness in your traditional OT practice, and ways for you to become even more deeply involved in this practice area.

Resources from the Podcast

Websites

• Supported Mama

• OTs in Maternal Health

• Postpartum Support International

Facebook Groups

• Occupational Therapy in Postpartum Care

• WomensHealth4OT

• OTs for Pelvic Health

• The Lactation OT Community

• OTs in Perinatal Mental Health

Assessments

• Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)

• Mental Health Screening Form III

• Postpartum Social Support Screening

1. You will be able to describe how promoting maternal wellness can impact the health of your pediatric client.

2. You will be able to identify maternal mental health screens that can be used in OT practice.

• Intro

• Breakdown and analysis of journal article

  • What was the purpose of this article?

  • What do we already know about maternal mental health?

  • How is the COVID-19 pandemic impacting maternal mental health?

  • So, what is the role of OT here?

  • Case study example

  • What were the implications for OTs?

  • Takeaways for OT Practitioners

• Discussion on practical implications for OTs (with guest Dr. Carlin Reaume)

  1. Can you tell us the story of how you found OT and maternal wellness?

  2. Can you tell us about your practice at Supported Mama?

  3. In your work, have you seen the kind of exacerbation of mental health challenges that the article talked about?

  4. What was your impression of the case study and call to action?

  5. What do you personally think pediatric OTs can be doing in their practice to support maternal wellness?

     • Do you have any advice for introducing conversation about maternal wellness?

  6. If OTs want to get specifically involved in maternal wellness, what do you see as the current avenues to doing this?

  7. My impression after reading this article is we need more holistic pre- and post-natal support for new parents. Do you agree with this? Do you think OTs have a larger role to play than we are playing?

  8. Are there any simple strategies you would like to leave us with that we could all adopt to be more supportive of new parents?

Primary

• The promotion of Positive Mental Health for new mothers during covid-19

Additional

• Covid-19 pandemic and Maternal Mental Health: A systematic review and meta-analysis

• A call to action: Addressing maternal mental health in pediatric occupational therapy practice

It is the policy of OT Potential to disclose any financial and non-financial interest the provider or instructor may have in a product or service mentioned during an activity. This is to ensure that the audience is made aware of any bias of the speaker.

OT Potential pays guest speakers an honorarium for their participation, either directly or to an institution of the speaker's choosing at their request. We invite guests whose expertise often comes from practices, programs, or building products in their field. Where a speaker has a financial interest in the subject of a course, we disclose it below so you can weigh it for yourself.

OT Potential's interest in this topic: We have no financial stake in this topic.

Speaker interests: Carlin Reaume owns Supported Mama, a maternal wellness practice that provides the services discussed in this course. She does not sell a product or service to occupational therapists.