RESOURCES

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VIDEOS

THE OVERVIEW

THE SCIENCE

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READINGS

What Mothers Say: The Canadian Maternity Experiences Survey

A technical report that presents the results of the MES (236 pages)

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Mothers' Voices

A booklet specifically intended for women that presents a few highlights from the MES results, along with some of the latest research and recommendations

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A cognitive behaviour therapy-based self-management guide for women

This workbook has been contributed to HeretoHelp by our partners at the BC Reproductive Mental Health Program of BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services. We highly recommend this resource for women wanting to learn self-help skills to prevent and manage depression during pregnancy and after birth. This resource includes basic information for women and their health care providers, as well as advice on getting help, making changes, and preventing relapse.

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Postpartum depression: it isn't just the blues

Beck, C. T. (2006). Postpartum depression: it isn’t just the blues. Am J Nurs 106(5): 40-50.

Postpartum depression is a crippling mood disorder, historically neglected in health care, leaving mothers to suffer in fear, confusion, and silence. Undiagnosed it can adversely affect the mother-infant relationship and lead to long-term emotional problems for the child. This article differentiates postpartum depression from other postpartum mood and anxiety disorders and addresses these aspects of postpartum depression: symptoms, prevalence, risk factors, interventions, and the effects on relationships and child development. Instruments available to screen for postpartum depression are also reviewed.

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Infant-parent attachment: Definition, types, antecedents, measurement and outcome.

Benoit, D. (2004). Infant-parent attachment: Definition, types, antecedents, measurement and outcome. Paediatr Child Health 9(8): 541-545.

Attachment theory is one of the most popular and empirically grounded theories relating to parenting. The purpose of the present article is to review some pertinent aspects of attachment theory and findings from attachment research. Attachment is one specific aspect of the relationship between a child and a parent with its purpose being to make a child safe, secure and protected. Attachment is distinguished from other aspects of parenting, such as disciplining, entertaining and teaching. Common misconceptions about what attachment is and what it is not are discussed. The distinction between attachment and bonding is provided. The recognized method to assess infant-parent attachment, the Strange Situation procedure, is described. In addition, a description is provided for the four major types of infant-parent attachment, ie, secure, insecure-avoidant, insecure-resistant and insecure-disorganized. The antecedents and consequences of each of the four types of infant-parent attachment are discussed. A special emphasis is placed on the description of disorganized attachment because of its association with significant emotional and behavioural problems, and poor social and emotional outcomes in high-risk groups and in the majority of children who have disorganized attachment with their primary caregiver. Practical applications of attachment theory and research are presented.

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Long-term effects of early life stress exposure: Role of epigenetic mechanisms.

Silberman, D. M., et al. (2016). Long-term effects of early life stress exposure: Role of epigenetic mechanisms. Pharmacol Res 109: 64-73.

Stress is an adaptive response to demands of the environment and thus essential for survival. Exposure to stress during the first years of life has been shown to have profound effects on the growth and development of an adult individual. There are evidences demonstrating that stressful experiences during gestation or in early life can lead to enhanced susceptibility to mental disorders. Early-life stress triggers hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis activation and the associated neurochemical reactions following glucocorticoid release are accompanied by a rapid physiological response. An excessive response may affect the developing brain resulting in neurobehavioral and neurochemical changes later in life. This article reviews the data from experimental studies aimed to investigate hormonal, functional, molecular and epigenetic mechanisms involved in the stress response during early-life programming. We think these studies might prove useful for the identification of novel pharmacological targets for more effective treatments of mental disorders.

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Are female children more vulnerable to the long-term effects of maternal depression during pregnancy?

Quarini C, Pearson RM, Stein A, Ramchandani PG, Lewis G, Evans J. (2016). Are female children more vulnerable to the long-term effects of maternal depression during pregnancy? Journal of Affective Disorders 189: 329–335.

Background: Female fetuses are more vulnerable to high levels of maternal glucocorticoids. We examined whether exposure to prenatal maternal depression, a condition associated with high glucocorticoids, carries greater risk for depression at 12 and 18 years in girls. Methods: Our sample comprised 7959 mothers and children from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children following imputation for missing data. Maternal depression was assessed pre-and postnatally, and offspring depression at ages 12 and 18. We used logistic regression models to examine the relationship between exposure to prenatal and postnatal depression and offspring depression at 18 and 12 and interactions with gender. Results: There was an interaction between prenatal depression and gender (P=0.027) and between postnatal depression and gender (P=0.027) for offspring depression at 18. Following adjustment in prenatally depressed mothers, the odds ratio for offspring depression at 18 was 1.55 (95% c.i. 1.03–2.34) for girls and 0.54 (0.23–1.26) for boys. In postnatally depressed mothers, the odds ratio for offspring depression at 18 was 1.15 (0.70–1.89) in girls and 3.13 (1.52–6.45) in boys. However there was no evidence for interaction between prenatal or postnatal depression and gender (P=0.559 and 0.780 respectively) for offspring depression at 12. Conclusions: This is the first evidence in humans that increased vulnerability of female fetuses to maternal stress responses during pregnancy persists into adolescence. One explanation for gender differences emerging later is more depressive symptomatology is attributed to heritable risk at 12, whereas biological processes involved in brain development at 18 may be influenced by foetal programming. If replicated, this study has potential to help understand intergenerational transmission of depression, a leading cause of morbidity worldwide.

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Gender Differences in the Effects of Prenatal Stress on Brain Development and Behaviour.

Weinstock M. (2007). Gender Differences in the Effects of Prenatal Stress on Brain Development and Behaviour. Neurochem Res 32: 1730–1740.

An increased incidence of anxiety, depression and attention deficits in children has been linked to psychological stress during pregnancy. Subjection of a pregnant rat to stress at a time when the foetal limbic and hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axes develop results in anxiogenic and depressive behaviour and learning and attention deficits in the offspring, which depend on its gender, intensity and timing of the maternal stress and behaviour being tested. Maternal stress increases corticosterone levels in the foetal brain, decreases foetal testosterone and brain aromatase activity in males, and alters brain catecholamine activity to that in females. Learning deficits, reductions in hippocampal neurogenesis, LTP and dendritic spine density in the prefrontal cortex are more readily seen in prenatally-stressed males, while anxiety, depression and increased response of the HPA axis to stress are more prevalent in females. Genders may differ in the sensitivity of developing brain areas to stress hormones.

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Canadian Maternity and Pediatric Nursing

Canadian Maternity and Pediatric Nursing by Jean Chow, Christine Ateah, Shannon Scott, Susan Ricci, and Terri Kyle

A unique resource for students to understand the health needs of women and children. This new combination book, Canadian Maternity and Pediatric Nursing, will empower students to guide women and their children toward higher levels of wellness throughout the life cycle. The main objective is to aid the students in building a strong knowledge base that reflects the Canadian context as well as to assist with the development of critical thinking skills. In addition, the focus of the textbook will allow the reader to anticipate, identify, and address common problems and provide timely, evidence-based interventions. Maternity nursing content coverage is comprehensive, yet presented in a concise and straightforward manner. The pediatric nursing content presents the important differences when caring for children compared with caring for adults. A nursing process approach provides relevant information in a concise and non-redundant manner. The content covered in the text arms the student or practicing nurse with essential information to care for women and their families, to assist them to make the right choices safely, intelligently, and with confidence.”

Link to purchase book provided here

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CONFERENCES AND TRAINING

National and local conferences

Name	Acronym	Link
Canadian Psychiatric Association (Annual conference)	CPA	https://www.cpa-apc.org/
Canadian Psychology Association	CPA	https://cpa.ca/CPAConventions/
Annual Research Day of Douglas Hospital Center and McGill Department of Psychiatry		https://douglas.research.mcgill.ca/academic-life-douglas
HBHL Research Day		https://www.mcgill.ca/hbhl/about-hbhl
Integrated Program in Neuroscience Retreat	IPN	https://www.mcgill.ca/ipn/retreat
Lady Davis Institute (LDI) for Medical Research Annual Scientific retreat		http://www.ladydavis.ca/en/scientificretreat2012

International conferences

Name	Acronym	Link
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry	AACAP	https://www.aacap.org/
The International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions	IACAPAP	http://iacapap.org/
Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (Annual Conference)	CACAP	http://www.cacap-acpea.org/en/cacap/Locations_p824.html
Society for Research in Child Development	SRCD	https://www.srcd.org/
International congress of Infant Studies	ICIS	https://www.emedevents.com/c/medical-conferences-2020/international-congress-of-infant-studies-icis-2020
International Society for Research in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology	ISRCAP	http://isrcap.org/
National Association of School Psychologist	NASP	https://www.nasponline.org/
International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease	DOHaD	https://dohadsoc.org/dohad-world-congress/
The Marce Society for Prenatal Mental Health (International Marcé Society Biennial Scientific Meeting)		https://marcesociety.com/
World Association for Infant Mental Health	WAIMH	https://waimh.org/page/regional_conferences
Society of Biological Psychiatry		https://sobp.org/
International Society of Psychiatric Genetics (It organises the Annual World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics)	ISPG	https://ispg.net/annual-world-congress/general-information/
European Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (International Congress of ESCAP for child and adolescent psychiatry)	ESCAP	https://www.escap.eu/escap-congresses/
American Psychiatric Association (IPS: The mental health services conference) (Annual Meetings)	APA	https://www.psychiatry.org/
Integrating genetics and social sciences.	IGSS	https://cupc.colorado.edu/conferences/IGSS_2019/
International association for women’s mental health	IAWMH	http://iawmh.org/
World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics	WCPG	https://wcpg2019.net/future-congress-dates/
Life History Research Society Conference (Biennial)
International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine	ISMRM	https://www.ismrm.org/
Organization for Human Brain Mapping		https://www.humanbrainmapping.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3267
Society for Neuroscience		https://www.sfn.org/Meetings
American Society of Human Genetics	ASHG	http://www.ashg.org/2018meeting/
Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder	CHADD	https://chadd.org/conference/
European Psychiatry Association (European Congress of Psychiatry)	EPA	https://epa-congress.org/2019/Pages/default.aspx#.XEkywFxKhPY
Attention Deficit Disorder Association	ADDA	https://add.org/mission/
Canadian ADHD Resource Alliance	CADDRA	https://caddra.societyconference.com/v2/