EmBRACE: Empower NICU – A Bridge to Resources for Adjusting and Coping with Emotions

Annually, 15% of U.S. births result in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) hospitalization.  The extreme emotional strain of parenting an infant in the fast-paced medicalized NICU settings can be detrimental to mental health and functioning, with up to 70% of NICU parents experiencing depression and severe anxiety. Moreover, parents experience chronic stress and trauma from the day-to-day threats in the NICU, putting them at risk for posttraumatic stress disorder. Addressing parental mental health and sequelae is critical given the potentially devastating consequences for parents and children, such as significantly impaired parent-infant interactions and attachment, infant development, and parent-provider interactions. Despite the clear need, many NICUs do not address parent mental health needs as a universal standard of care. Approximately 70% of NICU parents are not routinely screened or identified for mental health symptoms and thus do not receive the mental health services they need, creating notable health disparities. Experts and emerging research recommend a Standards of Care embedded in the NICU that includes universal screening, ongoing mental health monitoring, psychoeducation, and a stepped-care approach to best serve NICU parents that optimizes and tailors services based on the unique needs of the parent. Unfortunately, widespread implementation of a clinically practical system based on expert recommendations has not been achieved. We propose to develop a mHealth app entitled Empower NICU – A Bridge to Resources for Adjusting and Coping with Emotions (EmBRACE) to provide: 1. Universal mental health screening while giving NICU parents control over when and where assessments are completed; 2. Ongoing mental health monitoring using a set of quick, daily assessments (via ecological momentary assessment) and weekly screenings; 3. Customized microlearning education (e.g., 1-3 minute videos) tailored to assessment results and referrals in a stepped-care approach; and 4. A sustainable contingency management approach to increase parent compliance with assessments, microlearning, and referral follow-up.

MommaConnect

The MommaConnect project is rooted in the compelling research and statistics surrounding postpartum depression (PPD) and its impact on maternal mental health and infant outcomes. PPD affects approximately 1 in 5 women, with higher rates observed among African American/Black (AA/B) women after giving birth. The adverse effects of untreated PPD include chronic and treatment-resistant depression, functional impairment, dysfunctional family relationships, and increased suicide risk in mothers. Furthermore, PPD negatively affects mother-infant interaction, leading to decreased attention to infant safety, reduced breastfeeding rates, and poor infant developmental outcomes. Infants of mothers with PPD are at significant risk for long-term cognitive, emotional, and neurobehavioral issues. Access to specialized mental healthcare for AA/B women with PPD is limited, exacerbating healthcare disparities. MommaConnect addresses these challenges by offering evidence-based therapies, such as Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) and Mother-Baby Interaction Therapy (MBI), targeting both mothers with PPD and their infants. By leveraging a tailored mHealth platform, MommaConnect improves treatment accessibility, reduces mental health stigma, and addresses social determinants of health. It provides a comprehensive and innovative approach to perinatal mental health, aiming to enhance therapy sessions, facilitate ongoing monitoring and support, and ultimately improve outcomes for AA/B mothers and their infants. MBC is one of only three programs that target intensive mental health treatment among low-income postpartum women of color. MommaConnect’s innovative features include: ● MommaConnect combines evidence-based therapies for maternal mental health and mother-infant interaction. ● MommaConnect utilizes a customized digital platform for remote psychotherapy and support. ● MommaConnect overcomes access barriers by offering online/offline capabilities and targeting low-income postpartum women (African American/Black mothers with PPD). ● MommaConnect enables patient data collection and promotes collaborative treatment decisions between clinicians and patients. 

MommaConnect: A project on postpartum depression and its impact on maternal mental and infant health

The MommaConnect project is rooted in the compelling research and statistics surrounding postpartum depression (PPD) and its impact on maternal mental health and infant outcomes. PPD affects approximately 1 in 5 women, with higher rates observed among African American/Black (AA/B) women after giving birth. The adverse effects of untreated PPD include chronic and treatment-resistant depression, functional impairment, dysfunctional family relationships, and increased suicide risk in mothers. Furthermore, PPD negatively affects mother-infant interaction, leading to decreased attention to infant safety, reduced breastfeeding rates, and poor infant developmental outcomes. Infants of mothers with PPD are at significant risk for long-term cognitive, emotional, and neurobehavioral issues. Access to specialized mental healthcare for AA/B women with PPD is limited, exacerbating healthcare disparities. MommaConnect addresses these challenges by offering evidence-based therapies, such as Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) and Mother-Baby Interaction Therapy (MBI), targeting both mothers with PPD and their infants. By leveraging a tailored mHealth platform, MommaConnect improves treatment accessibility, reduces mental health stigma, and addresses social determinants of health. It provides a comprehensive and innovative approach to perinatal mental health, aiming to enhance therapy sessions, facilitate ongoing monitoring and support, and ultimately improve outcomes for AA/B mothers and their infants. MBC is one of only three programs that target intensive mental health treatment among low-income postpartum women of color. MommaConnect’s innovative features include:  ● MommaConnect combines evidence-based therapies for maternal mental health and mother-infant interaction.  ● MommaConnect utilizes a customized digital platform for remote psychotherapy and support.  ● MommaConnect overcomes access barriers by offering online/offline capabilities and targeting low-income postpartum women (African American/Black mothers with PPD).  ● MommaConnect enables patient data collection and promotes collaborative treatment decisions between clinicians and patients.

MommaConnect for mothers

The MommaConnect project is rooted in the compelling research and statistics surrounding postpartum depression (PPD) and its impact on maternal mental health and infant outcomes. PPD affects approximately 1 in 5 women, with higher rates observed among African American/Black (AA/B) women after giving birth. The adverse effects of untreated PPD include chronic and treatment-resistant depression, functional impairment, dysfunctional family relationships, and increased suicide risk in mothers. Furthermore, PPD negatively affects mother-infant interaction, leading to decreased attention to infant safety, reduced breastfeeding rates, and poor infant developmental outcomes. Infants of mothers with PPD are at significant risk for long-term cognitive, emotional, and neurobehavioral issues. Access to specialized mental healthcare for AA/B women with PPD is limited, exacerbating healthcare disparities. MommaConnect addresses these challenges by offering evidence-based therapies, such as Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) and Mother-Baby Interaction Therapy (MBI), targeting both mothers with PPD and their infants. By leveraging a tailored mHealth platform, MommaConnect improves treatment accessibility, reduces mental health stigma, and addresses social determinants of health. It provides a comprehensive and innovative approach to perinatal mental health, aiming to enhance therapy sessions, facilitate ongoing monitoring and support, and ultimately improve outcomes for AA/B mothers and their infants. MBC is one of only three programs that target intensive mental health treatment among low-income postpartum women of color. MommaConnect’s innovative features include: MommaConnect combines evidence-based therapies for maternal mental health and mother-infant interaction. MommaConnect utilizes a customized digital platform for remote psychotherapy and support. MommaConnect overcomes access barriers by offering online/offline capabilities and targeting low-income postpartum women (African American/Black mothers with PPD). MommaConnect enables the collection of patient data and promotes collaborative treatment decisions between clinicians and patients.