Mentoring MothersSponsored by

Emergence: Reproductive Mental Health Services

Helen Marlo, Ph.D.Psychologist, Psychoanalyst

Emergence: Reproductive Mental Health Services, FounderProfessor, Notre Dame de Namur University

Director, Master’s of Science in Clinical Psychology Program

PSYCHOLOGY OF PERINATAL PERIOD: A time of profound personal reorganization, transition, and development, involving a normal period of increased anxiety and (unconscious) conflict in women which manifests to encourage self-evaluation to meet new developmental challenges, and to mobilize care and sensitivity to the newborn. (Klaus, Kennell, & Klaus, 1995).

COMMON PERINATAL STRUGGLES: Perinatal issues are normal and universal while significant struggles occur in over 20-25% of women and frequently co-occur in partners and children.

Anxiety Trauma including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Grief and Loss Depression Personality Patterns:

• Perfectionism • High expectations• Critical

•Obsessive •Compulsive•Rigidity•Helpless/dependent

• Self-reliant/independent • Avoidant • Self-negligent• Self-absorbed

Bonding and Attachment Problems:

• Detached or overly, inconsistently, or chaotically attached

Developmental challenges and transitions

Relationship/Marital/Partner Issues

Unresolved Past Issues

Concerns about Parenting and Parenthood

Pregnancy Related Concerns

Psychosomatic Problems

Eating Disturbances

Substance Abuse

Addictions

PERINATAL ANXIETY, TRAUMA, & POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER:

ANXIETY:While estimates of perinatal depression range from 10-20% of new mothers, perinatal anxiety appears to be more prevalent (Jaffe & Diamond, 2011) and frequently co-occurs with depression.

Increased pregnancy fears and anxiety, not general stress is related to pre- term births possibly from elevated corticotropin-releasing hormone (Dunkel-Schetter & Mancuso, 2010).

Up to 75% of mothers with preschoolers report significant anxiety (Maushart, 1999).

POST-PARTUM POST TRAUMATIC STRESS SYMPTOMS/DISORDER (PTSS/PTSD):➢An experience of childbirth where one believes her life or her baby’s life was threatened; and includes feeling helpless, out of control, alone, and unsupported. ➢Research has increased as this has gained more reputable clinical attention.

When Survivors Give Birth (2004) by Penny Simkin and Phyllis Klaus

Core symptoms revolve around re-experiencing, avoidance, and arousal.

PERINATAL ANXIETY, TRAUMA, & POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS SYMPTOMS/DISORDER:

Rates of postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder range from 1.5-9%.

Between 25%-34% of women report traumatic births and 1.5-3% of women with clinically normal births developed PTSD (Soet, et al, 2003, Creedy, et al, 2002, Czarnocka, et al, 2000, Beck, 2005, 2006, Ayers, 2007).

➢Nationwide study of 1,373 postpartum women found 9% met diagnostic criteria for PTSD while 18% had significantly elevated symptoms (Beck, 2011).

➢A review of 31 studies on post-traumatic stress after childbirth concluded it is common and under-recognized (Olde, 2005).

Risk factors included: a history of psychological problems, trait anxiety, obstetric

procedures, negative contact between birth professionals and mother, feelings of

loss of control, and lack of partner support.

➢PTSD/PTSS have significant, negative, long-term impact on: mood, behavior, social relationships, future pregnancy and childbirth, partner relationship, sexual functioning, mother-baby bonding and attachment, long-term attachment problems, especially avoidant or anxious attachments.

➢PTSD and PTSS can result from or be kindled and re-stimulated by events during birth

POST-PARTUM POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS SYMPTOMS/DISORDER:RISK FACTORS DURING LABOR (Beck, 2011; Waldenstrom 2004; Soet, 2003;Creedy, 2000; Thom, 2007; Soderquist, Wijma 2002; Olde 2005: Ayers, 2007 Gamble, 2005; Gross, 2005; Cigoli, 200)

Unexpected medical problemsHigh level of obstetric interventionCesarean birth

Perception of inadequate labor supportInstrumental deliveryInfant in NICUPoor experience with painLack of choice and loss of control over laborUnmet expectations especially without explanationNegative interactions with hospital professionals and

staffPoor partner supportFeelings: powerless, alone, defeated, thoughts of

deathPrenatal depression and anxietyTraumatic life events and (childhood) sexual trauma

historyDissociation

➢An inability to talk coherently about her birth story, coupled with negative perceptions of professionals and staff, are significant risk factors for PTSS or PTSD

•

Factors associated with Perinatal Emotional Problems ➢ Physical factors:

Previous psychiatric history and care Menstrual problems Imbalances: hormones, neurotransmitters,

nutrients Fatigue and disrupted sleep

Socio-cultural factors: Inadequate cultural recognition Absence of traditions/rituals including

“transition and reintegration rituals”

Insufficient social support and social isolation

Socioeconomic problems➢ Birth and Infant Factors:

Difficult or traumatic pregnancy, labor or birth

Discrepancy between expectations and subsequent experience

Disappointment with birth and experiences with professionals

History of obstetric problems, infertility, stillbirth, or miscarriage

Significant problems with infant

Infant characteristics especially when mismatch for mother

➢ Psychological Factors: Poor relationship with partner/marriage Negative perceptions of parental care during

one’s childhood Poor relationship with parents especially

absent or poor mother-daughter relationship

Less paternal involvement and support of infant’s care

Ignorance of infant development Distorted self-esteem and self efficacy

(high or low) Unrealistic expectations of motherhood Lack of satisfaction with educational

achievement Little previous contact with babies Prolonged conception period in women over 30 Oppressive past memories History of sexual or physical trauma and

abuse Fear of childbirth

Unresolved traumas or losses Stressful life events Maternal age (younger and older) Lack of control over returning to work

Developmental Considerations: Transitioning to Motherhood

"What’ll I do with it now”

Developmental Considerations: Transitioning to Motherhood

Developmental Considerations: Transitioning to Motherhood

TRANSITIONING TO MOTHERHOOD:“The mother having been a child and having introjected the memory traces of being… cared for…relives with her infant the pleasures and pains of infancy…Parents meet.. not only the projections of their own conflicts incorporated in the child, but also the promise of their hopes and ambitions.” (Benedek, 1959)

“Motherhood is earned first through an intense physical and psychic rite of passage—pregnancy and childbirth—then through learning to nurture, which does not come by instinct.” (Rich, 1995)

➢ Pregnancy and birth is often a time of maternal rebirth. A vulnerable time, it triggers a process of self-reorganization and personal evaluation. (Stern, 2002).Motherhood is characterized by paradox, contradictions and opposites that generate anxiety (deMarneffe, 2004; Maushart, 1999; Raphael-Leff, 1993).

Mothers can have innate capacities for nurturing and yet sustained nurturance over time is learned.Mothers can feel instantly connected with their child and yet genuine bonding and attachment is a long-term process.Motherhood is accompanied by many gains and losses.

Mothers who are less reflective and less tolerant of ambiguity suffer more perinatal problems (Siegel, 2002; Raphael-Leff, 1993)

Birth into motherhood is filled with powerful myths, images and expectations, and sanctioned by cultural assumptions about motherhood and “good mothers:”

➢ Images: “Good” versus “bad” mothers; traditional versus non-traditional images of mothering; being like or unlike one’s childhood experience

Personal evaluation during maternal rebirth (Stern, 2002):

Imagined mother meeting real mother: Will I be like my mother? Will I be better or worse than my mother/parents? Will I replicate my childhood?

Imagined baby meeting real baby: “good” or “bad;” divine child or devil; flawless or deformed

Imagined birth meeting real birth: perfectly as planned; “perfectly” natural or “perfectly” medicated; completely in control or completely out of control

Imagined baby’s effect on mother meeting real effect: unconditional love; replacement baby; antidepressant; conciliator for family of origin; restoring and stimulating new relationship with mother; escaping the destiny of one’s past

Imagined baby’s effect on marriage meeting real effect: marital glue or marital threat; competitor

Imagined family meeting real family: baby as carrier of flaws; baby as gift; social mobility; role in the family mythology

The Reciprocator-Facilitator-Regulator Model: Patterns of relating to pregnancy, birth, post-partum, and mothering (Raphael-Leff, 2005):

The Reciprocator: • Ambivalence and contradictory reactions• Tolerant of ambiguity and uncertainty• Maintains parts of self while losing and developing

new parts• Attuned to needs of infant and self

The Facilitator: • Immerses completely • Expects to relish • Relinquishes self and previous life • Adapts “devotedly” to child’s life

The Regulator: • Strives to control and regulate • Detachment and minimization • Determination to minimize, deny, control changes; and

maintain “pre-pregnancy” self• Regulates and controls the baby

TRANSITIONING TO PARENTHOOD: Marital conflict increases dramatically, and marital quality decreases for 40-67% of couples within the first year of baby’s life.•“Bringing Baby Home” program decreased postpartum depression (22.5% versus 66.5% in control group) by improving couples relationship, educating on infant

development, involving fathers in infant care.

(Shapiro & Gottman, 2005).

TREATMENT:

➢ Preventive care: Preparation before or during pregnancy. Address family of origin issues, unresolved traumas, losses, and relationship patterns. ➢ Professionally facilitated support groups have been especially helpful with perinatal problems (Jaffe & Diamond, 2011). Integrative Treatment: Psychosocial and educational interventions, individual and group psychotherapy, medication, peer interventions, somatic work; and integrative/complementary medical and psychological treatments including relaxation therapy, yoga, massage, mindfulness, meditation, and hypnotherapy are effective with perinatal problems (Jaffe & Diamond, 2011; Siegel, 2003). Psychotherapy: Brief to long-term. Relevance of trauma therapy. May involve individual; parent and infant; couple; or family and include integrative/complementary treatments.

MENTALIZING AND NARRATION: Their power in therapeutic work

Mentalizing: Understanding mental states in self and others—holding mind in mind. The process of thinking about thinking. Capacity to “feel thoughts,” and “think feelings,” in self and others. Includes explicit and implicit information.

Narrative: Construction of a story. Coherent narratives relate to mental health. Coherence: Story is believable, congruent, undistorted, sufficiently elaborated, collaborative, & reflective of self/others.

Narratives that are coherent and demonstrate mentalizing predict better relationships and mental health, including with vulnerable populations.

Research on Mentalizing [Reflectiveness] and Narrative:

Pregnant mothers who were self-reflective [“mentalizing”] about their early histories and able to share a coherent story of their early life [“narrating”], when three months pregnant, had less anxious children who demonstrated secure attachment at eighteen months (Fonagy, et. al, 1993).

mothers with significant adversity and deprivation, but high reflectiveness ratings, demonstrated secure attachment

relationships with their children, while only one of seventeen deprived mothers, with low reflectiveness ratings had secure children (Fonagy, Steele, Moran, Steele, and Higgitt, 1991a)

The relevance of the narrative of “the reproductive story”: “the, at times conscious, but largely unconscious, narrative” created “about parenthood.” (Jaffe & Diamond, 2011)

CLINICAL CONSIDERATIONS:➢ Initially align with challenging emotional states with empathy.

Complementary reactions where patient is challenged, provided “the other side,” encouraged “out” of her experience, is a more natural and common response, but usually less helpful initially.

Acknowledge limits to empathically knowing her experience.

➢Attunement to language: Process not content; engagement with non-verbal, verbal, and somatic dimensions of experienceAffirm the benefits of an integrated approach to her health: Help target one area that is within her capacity to influence. Attunement to PTSD symptoms particularly: re-experiencing; avoidance; or arousal. Affirm benefits to child and her of receiving earlier treatment.➢Affirm the healing power of telling her story. Less coherent narratives related to more problems and indicates greater need for treatment.

A mother who develops and articulates a “coherent narrative” of her life story shows greater mental health, healthier parenting, improved relationships with her partner and children, and has children who demonstrate more security and better capacity for relating (Siegel, 2003).

The un-narrated past, not the past, impacts the present.

Narration fosters neural integration of the right and left

hemispheres (Teicher, 2002), which leads to improved

emotional regulation, and more conscious choices.

Meets the human need to be heard, seen, and valued.

➢Affirm the influence of “the reproductive story,” and the value of working mindfully with it.

➢Consider referring a patient to “Mentoring Mothers,” a group that provides mentoring, education, consultation, community, and support that focuses on fostering emotional and psychological development for a more conscious transition to motherhood.