The study primary investigator (PI), Dr. Deana Furr, is a faculty member in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation and researcher in women’s health. She has worked as a Woman’s Health Nurse Practitioner (WHNP-BC) abroad and has taught maternal child health for over a decade.
The study co PI, Dr. Cheryl Anderson, has been a maternal child health faculty member and researcher for over four decades. Serving as mentor and content expert, Dr. Anderson has published numerous articles on women’s health, perinatal depression, childbirth trauma and related posttraumatic stress (PTS).
Joseph Trombello is a board certified licensed psychologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and assistant professor of psychiatry.
Undergraduate research assistants include Haley Klovenski, Whitney Lewis, Rebecca Lanning and Efret Ghirmazion.
The current study addresses the mental health of mothers experiencing a traumatic birth, especially with the admission of an infant into NICU. Up to 45% of mothers may suffer symptoms of depression and PTS, therefore, the need for intervention is essential. This study, now enrolling mothers, focuses on the mental health of mothers with infants, past or present in the NICU, and evaluates the effectiveness of a promising intervention, expressive writing, on the reduction of symptoms.