The baby is home, the visitors have gone and mom is struggling to keep up with all the demands of motherhood, likely with very little sleep while doing so. It’s an all-too-common scene that comes with an added layer of stress for women experiencing maternal postpartum depression (PPD).

For some women, their experience of maternal postpartum depression (PPD) adds an extra layer of stress.

The good news is that there are effective treatments for PPD that benefit both mother and baby. These will be discussed at the upcoming webinar, “Treating postpartum depression, benefits for mom and baby,” held online Tuesday, Oct, 4 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

The Lifespan Institute Speaker Series’ event features John Krzeczkowski, a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at York University and Director of the Strong Starts Research Program.

“Our research suggests that treating maternal postpartum depression with cognitive behavioural therapy, a short, cost-effective treatment that is accepted and preferred by mothers, not only benefits maternal health, but also leads to healthy changes in their babies’ brain development,” he says.

Krzeczkowski will discuss such subjects as:

• How treating PPD in mothers improves their ability to soothe their infants during moments of distress.
• That treating PPD benefits infant emotion regulation months after the end of maternal treatment.
• How maternal sensitivity improvements can reorganize infant brain development.
• The exciting future of research on the benefits of PPD treatments on the infant brain.

The event follows up on a webinar Krzeczkowski conducted in May.

Krzeczkowski, a graduate of Brock’s Neuroscience program, has worked and volunteered with Niagara Region Public Health, Quest Community Health Centre and Distress Centre Niagara to gain an understanding of the widespread effects of mental health disorders on individuals and families.

He says PPD affects one in five mothers and has profound negative effects on a child’s ability to regulate their feelings and behaviours.

Held in partnership with support from Brock’s Office of Research Services, the “Maternal Postpartum Depression and Infant Brain Development — The impact of early treatment” webinar is free to attend but advanced registration is required.

The event is part of the ongoing Lifespan Institute Speaker Series, which is designed to connect and engage the community with research that is going on at Brock University.