Generation COVID Pt.2: Childbirth and Parent Mental Health
with Dr. Sharon Dekel
Welcome back to our Generation COVID series where we’re exploring the impact of the pandemic on pregnant and postpartum parents.
In this episode, we’re focusing on childbirth and parent mental health. Dr. Amanda Zelechoski interviews Dr. Sharon Dekel and three parents. Together they discuss the pandemic impact on child birthing experiences, the increase in traumatic child births, and the overall mental health challenges new parents have faced in these uncertain times.
Additional Resources
7 Symptoms Every Pregnant Woman Should Know (Preeclampsia Foundation)
Línea Nacional de Asistencia de Salud Mental Materna Para Mamás Primerizas y Embarazadas
For some women giving birth in the pandemic, the trauma led to personal growth by Juli Fraga (The Washington Post)
Resources from Our Guest Expert
Traumatic childbirth during COVID-19 triggers maternal psychological growth and in turn better mother-infant bonding. Babu MS, Chan SJ, Ein-Dor T, Dekel S.. J Affect Disord. 2022 Jun 27; 313:163-166. PMID: 35772629.
Validation of Childbirth-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Using Psychophysiological Assessment. Chan SJ, Thiel F, Kaimal AJ, Pitman RK, Orr SP, Dekel S.. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2022 May 28. PMID: 35640702.
Increased traumatic childbirth and postpartum depression and lack of exclusive breastfeeding in Black and Latinx individuals. Iyengar AS, Ein-Dor T, Zhang EX, Chan SJ, Kaimal AJ, Dekel S. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2022 May 22. PMID: 35598158.
COVID‑19 positivity associated with traumatic stress response to childbirth and no visitors and infant separation in the hospital. Mayopoulos GA, Ein-Dor T, Li KG, Chan SJ, Dekel S. Scientific Reports. 2021, 11:1353; doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-92985-4
COVID-19 is associated with traumatic childbirth and subsequent mother-infant bonding problems. Mayopoulos GA, Ein-Dor T, Dishy GA, Nandru R, Chan SJ, Hanley LE, Kaimal AJ, Dekel S. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2021; DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.12.101 PMC7889625
Bite-Sized Excerpts from This Episode
New Research Shows that Stressful and Traumatic Childbirths Increased During the Pandemic
What is Post-Traumatic Growth?
Trauma, Stress, and Loneliness During Childbirth
Meet Our Guests
Sharon Dekel, Ph.D.
Dr. Sharon Dekel is Assistant Professor of Psychology in the Psychiatry Department at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Postpartum Traumatic Stress Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital. She is known internationally for her research on childbirth-related posttraumatic stress. Her work, which has been continually supported by the National Institute of Health (NIH), brings together clinical and developmental psychology, psychophysiology, neuroscience, and machine learning to develop novel screening and interventions for at-risk individuals. Her current project examines the maternal brain and the neural profile that underlies childbirth-related PTSD. She also serves as the principal investigator of the Mothers Wellness study that assesses traumatic childbirth in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Dekel is a two time recipient of the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation’s Young Investigator Award; of Harvard’s Mind Brain Behavior Awards; and of Mass General's Executive Committee On Research Awards. She was awarded the MGH's Claflin Distinguished Scholar Award for Women in Science and the Postpartum Support International Susan A. Hickman Memorial Research Award for excellence in scientific work on postpartum mental health. Dr. Dekel earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Columbia University. She then completed her clinical internship training at Columbia Medical Center and continued to a research postdoctoral fellowship in a lead trauma lab in Israel. Her prior work on the human capacity to thrive in the wake of trauma is considered pioneering in the field. Dr. Dekel also has a private practice in which she treats peripartum individuals.