Trauma-Informed Care: Responding to the Need for Connection in the Childbearing Year
Intrafamilial and inter- and multi-generational trauma are factors that can adversely affect pregnancy, birth experience, and postpartum mental health and bonding. It is possible to delivery trauma-informed care as an individual practitioner, but it is better when the whole service uses a trauma-informed approach as a team. This talk will describe the structure and content of trauma-informed care and provide frameworks. It will also address the question of “connection” as a main theme for understanding how the deepest basis of trauma-informed care is a relational one.
A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE SPEAKER
NAME: JULIA SENG, PHD, CNM, FAAN, FACNM
AFFILIATION: UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SCHOOL OF NURSING, UNITED STATES
Julia Seng is a professor of nursing, obstetrics, and women’s and gender studies at the University of Michigan in the US. She is co-founder of the nonprofit organization Growing Forward Together which is disseminating the perinatal PTSD program “Survivor Moms’ Companion”
Dr. Seng is an experienced teacher, having become a nurse after teaching French at the university and high school levels. She is currently teaching in both the School of Nursing and the Department of Women’s Studies. She particularly enjoys teaching research methods – for nurse researchers and for non-scientists- including doctoral courses on measurement and qualitative methods.
Dr. Seng’s research focuses on the effects of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on women’s health and childbearing. Her projects approach this topic from a variety of perspectives. She used qualitative, participatory action research to understand women’s experiences and to inform intervention development. Epidemiological analyses have established that PTSD is associated with pregnancy complications and worse physical health across the lifespan for women. Clinical studies currently are examining neuroendocrine pathways that link PTSD to preterm birth, lower birth weight, and pregnancy complications. Implementation study of a psychoeducation program for women with abuse-related PTSD, known as the “Survivor Moms’ Companion” is underway.