Papers by Jennifer Ericksen
Parenthood is a major life transition. Although becoming a parent is a time of great joy and cele... more Parenthood is a major life transition. Although becoming a parent is a time of great joy and celebration, often the experience of motherhood is not what new mothers expected. Many women struggle with the countless changes and challenges associated with adjusting their lives to accommodate and nurture a new baby. The following are some quotes from mothers who have attended our Infant Clinic at the Parent-Infant Research Institute (PIRI), Austin Health. "There is a bit of a myth isn't there about motherhood, and how easy it is...? It is so natural to everybody isn't it? I mean as a woman, it's natural to be a mother...?" "We put pressure on ourselves. We assume we are perfect, we are women and we can do it all." The unexpected difficulties new parents face with the arrival of a baby have a significant impact on maternal and paternal well-being and mental health. Parents also often have feelings of guilt regarding the possible impact on their infant. "I feel like such a failure as a parent." "My baby doesn't fit the answers!" Up to 30% of women experience mild depressive symptoms, adjustment problems and anxiety in the postnatal period. Difficulties in managing their baby's settling, crying, weight gain and breastfeeding are physical and emotional stressors and commonly lead to feelings of not coping and inadequate parenting. POSTNATAL DEPRESSION-THE EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM Postnatal depression is a devastating experience for new mothers. While a substantial number of women have difficulties adjusting, clinical depression affects around 10% of women both preand post-natally. Depression during the childbearing years presents with the same symptom profile as depression at other life stages and occurs across cultures.
BMC Psychiatry, Feb 17, 2022
Background: We investigated the acceptability and feasibility of a new brief intervention for mat... more Background: We investigated the acceptability and feasibility of a new brief intervention for maternal prenatal anxiety within maternity services in London and Exeter, UK. Methods: One hundred fourteen pregnant individuals attending their 12-week scan at a prenatal clinic with elevated symptoms of anxiety (GAD-7 score of ≥7) were randomly assigned to either the ACORN intervention + Treatment as usual (TAU) (n = 57) or to usual care only (n = 57). The ACORN intervention consisted of 3 2-h group sessions, led by a midwife and psychological therapist, for pregnant individuals and their partners. The intervention included psychoeducation about anxiety, strategies for problem-sovling and tolerating uncertainty during pregnancy, including communicating about these with others, and mindfulness exercises. Results: Engagement rates with ACORN met or exceeded those in primary care services in England. In the intervention arm, 77% (n = 44) of participants attended at least one session, 51% (n = 29) were adherent, defined as attending two or more sessions. Feedback was positive, and participants in the ACORN treatment group demonstrated evidence of a larger drop in their levels of anxiety than the participants in the TAU-only group (Cohen's d = 0.42). Conclusion: The ACORN intervention was acceptable to pregnant individuals and their partners and resulted in reductions in anxiety. With further evaluation in a larger-scale trial with child outcomes, there is significant potential for large scale public health benefit.
Journal of Affective Disorders, May 1, 2008
These authors point out that many of the neurobiologic abnormalities in depression persist after ... more These authors point out that many of the neurobiologic abnormalities in depression persist after symptom resolution and medicine discontinuation. These include availability of serotonin receptor subtypes, decreases in g-aminobutyric acid, increased cortisol secretion, and negative bias in emotional processing. They provide an argument for how a better understanding of this vulnerability to depression could lead to better primary and secondary prevention efforts.
Sleep and Biological Rhythms, 2008
It is well known that breathing patterns vary with infant sleep states. However, development of a... more It is well known that breathing patterns vary with infant sleep states. However, development of an automated sleep scoring tool based on conventional statistical analysis of breathing patterns has proven problematic. Recent work has demonstrated that non-linear properties of breathing patterns vary with sleep states and that analysis with nonlinear tools such as recurrence plot analysis allows the accurate discrimination of sleep states. In this work we propose using a combination of statistical and non-linear analysis measures to automate the identification of infant sleep states using only breathing dynamics.
Frontiers in Psychology, 2022
Background and ObjectivesUp to 10% of fathers experience perinatal depression, often accompanied ... more Background and ObjectivesUp to 10% of fathers experience perinatal depression, often accompanied by anxiety, with a detrimental impact on the emotional and behavioural development of infants. Yet, few evidence-based interventions specifically for paternal perinatal depression or anxiety exist, and few depressed or anxious fathers engage with support. This mini-review aims to build on the evidence base set by other recent systematic reviews by synthesising more recently available studies on interventions for paternal perinatal depression and anxiety. Secondarily, we also aimed to identify useful information on key implementation strategies, if any, that increase the engagement of men.MethodsWe drew upon three major previous systematic reviews and performed an updated search of PubMed/Medline; Psycinfo; Cochrane Database; Embase and Cinahl. The search was limited to trials, feasibility studies or pilot studies of interventions published between 2015 and 2020 that reported on fathers&#...
Evidence-Based Practice in Screening, Psychosocial Assessment, and Management, 2015
BMC Psychiatry
Background Depression in pregnancy is prevalent, under-treated, and has serious impacts on the we... more Background Depression in pregnancy is prevalent, under-treated, and has serious impacts on the wellbeing of women and on child development. Internet programs can reach women who may not access traditional treatments due to distance, stigma or concern about taking medication. We adapted our online postnatal depression program, MumMoodBooster, for antenatal use. We aimed to trial feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of the new Mum2BMoodBooster intervention with depressed pregnant women. Methods Twenty-seven pregnant women with Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale score > 11 used the program in a feasibility trial. Twenty-one had current diagnoses of major or minor depression on the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV. Assessment of symptoms occurred at screening/baseline, post-test (8 weeks post-enrollment), and at follow-up (3 months postpartum) using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21). Results In this...
Standard Operating Procedure where participant has elevanted levels of depressive symptoms. (PDF ... more Standard Operating Procedure where participant has elevanted levels of depressive symptoms. (PDF 386 kb)
<b>Copyright information:</b>Taken from "A survey of the clinical acceptability ... more <b>Copyright information:</b>Taken from "A survey of the clinical acceptability of screening for postnatal depression in depressed and non-depressed women"BMC Public Health 2006;6():211-211.Published online 17 Aug 2006PMCID:PMC1564005.
Treating postnatal depressive symptoms in primary care: a randomised controlled trial of GP manag... more Treating postnatal depressive symptoms in primary care: a randomised controlled trial of GP management, with and without adjunctive counselling
RESUMEN La devolución del Iva consiste en un régimen tributario especial que se aplica en función... more RESUMEN La devolución del Iva consiste en un régimen tributario especial que se aplica en función de consideraciones específicas y en atención a la calidad que ostentan los sujetos pasivos que se benefician del mismo. Para que esta devolución proceda-en el caso de empresas públicas-, es indispensable que estas se encuentren constituidas de conformidad con las disposiciones de la Ley orgánica de Em presas Pú blicas o, en su defecto, hayan cumplido con las disposiciones específicas del ré gi men de transición contemplado para que las empresas públicas o estatales existen tes, las sociedades anónimas en las que el Estado es accionista, las empresas subsidiarias y las empresas de las Fuerzas armadas y de la Policía Na cional se conviertan en nuevas empresas públicas. En este contexto, el presente trabajo pretende analizar, de conformidad con el contenido de la Ley orgánica de Empresas Públicas, el momento a partir del cual se genera el derecho a la devolución del Impuesto al valor agregado, para las empresas públicas, así como cuestionar ciertas inconsistencias que se desprenden de esta Ley. PaLabRaS cLavE: Ley orgánica de Empresas Públicas, empresas públicas, transición, conversión, sociedades anónimas, subsidiarias, devolución del Iva, régimen tributario. SUMMaRY The vaT refunds consist on a special tax system applied according to specific considerations and in response to the capacity taxpayers who benefit from these refunds show. For this refund to be appropriate-in the case of public companies-, it is essential that they are formed in accordance with the provisions of the organic Law of Public companies or, failing that, that they have fulfilled the specific provisions of the provided transitional regime so the existing public or state
The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) Al/Si 3 N 4 /p-S... more The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) Al/Si 3 N 4 /p-Si Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) were measured at room temperature. Al/Si 3 N 4 /p-Si structure has been fabricated by the electrochemical anodization method. The surface of p-type Si was passivated by nitridation process. Effects series resistance R s , interfacial layer and interface states density (N ss) on I-V characteristics were investigated. Al/Si 3 N 4 /p-Si (MIS) Schottky barrier diodes showed that rectifying behavior with an ideality factor value of 6.17 and barrier height value of 0.714 eV obeys a metalinterfacial layer-semiconductor (MIS) structure rather than an ideal Schottky diode due to the existence of Si 3 N 4 at the Al/p-Si interfacial layer. The values of series resistance (R s) were determined using Cheung's method. In addition, interface states density (N ss) as a function of (E ss-E v) was extracted from the bias I-V measurements with and without taking into account the series resistance. The I-V characteristics confirmed that the distribution of N ss , R s and interfacial insulator layer are important parameters that influence the electrical characteristics of MIS Schottky diodes.
Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, 2018
Effective treatment of maternal antenatal depression may ameliorate adverse neurodevelopmental ou... more Effective treatment of maternal antenatal depression may ameliorate adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in offspring. We performed two follow-up rounds of children at age 2 and age 5 whose mothers had received either specialized cognitive-behavioural therapy or routine care for depression while pregnant. Of the original cohort of 54 women, renewed consent was given by 28 women for 2-year follow-up and by 24 women for 5-year follow-up. Child assessments at the 2-year follow-up included the Parenting Stress Index (PSI), Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID-III) and the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL). The 5-year follow-up included the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence (WPPSI-III) and again the CBCL. Treatment during pregnancy showed significant benefits for children’s development at age 2, but not at age 5. At 2 years, intervention effects were found with lower scores on the PSI Total score, Parent Domain and Child domain (d=1.44, 1.47, 0.96 respectively). A ...
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 2008
Objective: In the transition to parenthood, lack of social support significantly impacts on mater... more Objective: In the transition to parenthood, lack of social support significantly impacts on maternal mood. This paper compares the influence of single-mother status and level of partner support in a partnered relationship, on antenatal emotional health. Methods: Antenatal demographic, psychosocial and mental health data, as determined by Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) score, were collected from 1578 women. The association between these variables, and marital status, was investigated using logistic regression. Results: Sixty-two women (3.9%) were identified as single/unpartnered. Elevated EPDS scores (>12) were found in 15.2% (240/1578) of the total cohort and 25.8% (16/62) of the single/unpartnered women. EPDS scores were significantly lower for single/unpartnered women than for women with unsupportive partners (8.9±5.3 vs 11.9±6.5, p<0.001). Compared to the partnered cohort, single/unpartnered women were more likely to have experienced ≥2 weeks of depression befo...
Infant mental health journal, 2018
Symptoms of depression negatively impact on mother-infant relationships and child outcomes. We ev... more Symptoms of depression negatively impact on mother-infant relationships and child outcomes. We evaluated a novel, 10-session mother-infant therapeutic playgroup-Community HUGS (CHUGS)-which combines cognitive and experiential components through psychoeducation, play, music, and movement. Participants were mothers experiencing a range of postnatal mental health difficulties, including depression, with infants ≤12 months of age. However, the aim was not to treat maternal depression but to ameliorate associated problems in the mother-infant interaction. In the feasibility study, all participants received CHUGS. In the pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT), participants were randomized between intervention and a wait-list. Outcomes were the Parenting Stress Index (PSI; R.R. Abidin, 1995), Parenting Sense of Competency Scale (Self-Efficacy subscale; J. Gibaud-Wallston & L.P. Wandersman, 1978), and the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scales (P.F. Lovibond & S.H. Lovibond, 1995). In the feas...
SPIRIT Checklist. (PDF 130 kb)
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Papers by Jennifer Ericksen