Struggles and Strengths: Honoring Pandemic Motherhood

In our final episode of the Pandemic Parenting Podcast, Dr. Amanda Zelechoski and Dr. Lindsay Malloy revisit some of the best advice, stories, and research findings our guest experts have shared over the past two years. While these “best moments” are from conversations centered around the pandemic experience, these insights will be ones we carry with us as we enter new challenges in parenting our children through every stage of their lives.

After more than two years of fulfilling our mission to reach parents where they’re at with immediately accessible and relevant science-based resources, it’s time for Pandemic Parenting to close our virtual doors. Dr. Amanda Zelechoski and Dr. Lindsay Malloy reflect on the crisis-responsive, mission-driven work the organization set out to accomplish, where you can continue to find pandemic parenting resources, and what listeners can expect in the months and years ahead.

What is positive psychology? How can it help us? And, more specifically, how can we hold both the negative and positive experiences of the pandemic together in the stories we tell ourselves. Dr. Lindsay Malloy joins Dr. Amanda Zelechoski to discuss specific positive psychology coping strategies and the ways they each have experienced growth in themselves and their families since 2020.Additional ResourcesStress-Related Growth in Adolescents Returning to School After COVID-19 School Closure Waters, et. al (Frontiers in Psychology) Parenting Teens Through a Pandemic (Pandemic Parenting Podcast) Speaking of Psychology: Positive psychology in a pandemic, with Martin Seligman, PhD (American Psychological Association) What is Post-Traumatic Growth? Dr. Sharon Dekel (Pandemic Parenting Podcast) How to Get Your Child to Open Up Dr. Angela Evans (Pandemic Parenting Podcast)

The teen years involve a lot of physical, social, and cognitive change for our kids. As parents, we might expect challenges as our children grow into their independence, but for parents of teens during the pandemic, these challenges were often exacerbated by so much uncertainty. In this episode, Dr. Amanda Zelechoski takes a look at some of the latest research findings on teenagers during the pandemic, and talks with Dr. Crystal Burwell, a licensed psychotherapist, and several parents of teens. Together, they discuss: How has parenting teens changed in the last few years? How have parent and teen relationships been impacted by the pandemic? And how can we support our teenagers’ mental health and recognize the toll the pandemic years have had on our kids? Additional Resources12 Things Parents Can Do to Help Prevent Suicide (American Academy of Pediatrics)Five skills parents can learn so they can help their children cope by Katherine Reynolds Lewis (The Washington Post)How do I keep my children safe online? Advice from the front lines, including teens themselves by Jennifer Jolly (USA Today)The Unique Challenge of Raising Teenagers Right Now by Molly Jong-Fast (The Atlantic)Eating Disorder Warning Signs & Symptoms (National Eating Disorders Association)Identity & Eating Disorders (National Eating Disorder Association)U.S. Suicide Prevention Resources:1-800-273-TALK (273-8255) - The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - U.S. Suicide Prevention Resources - U.S. (Youth.gov)Canada Suicide Prevention Resources:1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) - Suicide Crisis Phone Line - CanadaBritish Colombia Mental Health Support Line: 310-6789 (24 hours)Suicide Prevention Resources - Canada (Mental Health Commission of Canada)Dr. Burwell’s websiteMeet Our Guest ExpertDr. Crystal Burwell is a licensed professional counselor, writer, educator, and public speaker. She's a native of Raleigh NC, where she received her doctorate in counselor education. Her research focuses on disordered eating and marginalized communities. Dr. Burwell's clinical specialties include eating disorders, mood & anxiety disorders, ADHD, and trauma. Her mission is to provide culturally competent mental health treatment that is inclusive, accessible, and clinically exceptional. Her mission is to help others find their voice and live their best life.

Welcome back to our Generation COVID series where we’re exploring the impact of the pandemic on pregnant and postpartum parents. In this episode, we’re focusing on childbirth and parent mental health. Dr. Amanda Zelechoski interviews Dr. Sharon Dekel and three parents. Together they discuss the pandemic impact on child birthing experiences, the increase in traumatic child births, and the overall mental health challenges new parents have faced in these uncertain times.Additional ResourcesPreeclampsia Foundation7 Symptoms Every Pregnant Woman Should Know (Preeclampsia Foundation)1-833-9-HELP4MOMS – National Maternal Mental Health HotlineLínea Nacional de Asistencia de Salud Mental Materna Para Mamás Primerizas y EmbarazadasFor some women giving birth in the pandemic, the trauma led to personal growth by Juli Fraga (The Washington Post)Meet Our GuestsDr. Sharon Dekel is Assistant Professor of Psychology in the Psychiatry Department at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Postpartum Traumatic Stress Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital. She is known internationally for her research on childbirth-related posttraumatic stress. Her work, which has been continually supported by the National Institute of Health (NIH), brings together clinical and developmental psychology, psychophysiology, neuroscience, and machine learning to develop novel screening and interventions for at-risk individuals. Her current project examines the maternal brain and the neural profile that underlies childbirth-related PTSD. She also serves as the principal investigator of the Mothers Wellness study that assesses traumatic childbirth in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.Dr. Dekel is a two time recipient of the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation’s Young Investigator Award; of Harvard’s Mind Brain Behavior Awards; and of Mass General's Executive Committee On Research Awards. She was awarded the MGH's Claflin Distinguished Scholar Award for Women in Science and the Postpartum Support International Susan A. Hickman Memorial Research Award for excellence in scientific work on postpartum mental health. Dr. Dekel earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Columbia University. She then completed her clinical internship training at Columbia Medical Center and continued to a research postdoctoral fellowship in a lead trauma lab in Israel. Her prior work on the human capacity to thrive in the wake of trauma is considered pioneering in the field. Dr. Dekel also has a private practice in which she treats peripartum individuals.Many thanks to parents Jillian, Stacey, and Dan for sharing their pandemic childbirth and mental health stories in this episode.

For those who were pregnant or trying to conceive during the pandemic, all expectations of what their life as new parents would look like shifted. Fertility treatments were paused, doctors appointments were rescheduled, and hospitals were changing protocols on who could and couldn’t be in the maternity ward during labor and delivery. So much was unknown.This is the first part of a two-part series about pregnant and postpartum parents. Dr. Amanda Zelechoski talks with Dr. Ezra Aydin about the impact of the pandemic on parents, pregnancies, and infant development. We’ll also hear from four parents about their journeys through fertility treatments, pregnancies, and caring for a Generation COVID newborn.

Last month, we heard from researchers about the uneven effects of the pandemic on families. In this episode, we hear directly from parents about some of their unique challenges. We also talk with scientists who identified related trends in their research and share some ideas about what families can do.Dr. Amanda Zelechoski talks with Dr. Heather Prime and Dr. Nicole Racine about their research findings, including the mental health impact of the pandemic on mothers specifically, some barriers single parents and co-parents face, and what all of this means for the family unit as a whole. Included in this episode about pandemic motherhood:- how the pandemic affected mother’s mental health- how the parents navigated the pandemic lockdowns as couples, co-parents, and single parents- stories from listeners about their challenges and silver linings during the pandemicAdditional Resources- SHEcovery - A Roadmap to Address COVID-19’s Impact on Women and Girls (Chicago Foundation for Women)- COVID-19 stress toll is a family affair: 4 ways to support mothers' mental health by Nicole Racine, Erin Hetherington, Sheri Madigan, and Suzanne Tough (The Conversation)- 4 Tips for Improving Family Wellness (The Globe and Mail)- Child and youth mental health problems have doubled during COVID-19 by Nicole Racine, Brae Anne McArthur, and Sheri Madigan (The Conversation)- Infographic: COVID-19 and Stress in Families (Prime Lab)- Infographic: Love Together, Parent Together: Supporting Couples During COVID-19 (Prime Lab)Meet Our GuestsHeather Prime, Ph.D., C. Psych. joined the Department of Psychology at York University as an assistant professor in 2020. She is a child psychologist and researcher with a specialization in mental health from a family systems perspective. She is passionate about the interconnections between the well-being of family members and relationships. She studies how families can themselves serve as an island of strength and resilience for children during challenging times. She uses this approach in designing evidence-based interventions for children and families that aim to strengthen family relationships, and in her work with families in the community in her role as a clinical psychologist.Nicole Racine, Ph.D., R. Psych. is a clinical psychologist and Independent Scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Canada. She received her PhD in Clinical-Developmental Psychology at York University, including a residency in Clinical and Pediatric Child Psychology at the Alberta Children’s Hospital. In collaboration with community and interdisciplinary partners, her research program examines the impact of childhood adversity on child mental health and wellbeing, how this adversity is transmitted across generations, and what prevention and intervention strategies can promote resilience despite these experiences. Dr. Racine is the recipient of several prestigious awards including the Governor General’s Gold Medal Award for her doctoral studies (2017) as well as the Canadian Psychological Association President’s New Researcher Award (2021). She is also the recipient of two knowledge engagement awards for her collaborative community-based projects. 

When pandemic lockdowns began, researchers around the world were asking a lot of questions and collecting lots – and lots – of data. What was the impact of the pandemic on mental health, both short-term and long-term? Which communities experienced the most negative effects of the pandemic? How can we better support these communities, and the entirety of our society, when disaster strikes next?In this episode, Dr. Amanda Zelechoski spoke with two researchers about their recent studies that start to answer many of these questions. You’ll hear from Dr. Lara Aknin, a psychologist and head of The Lancet’s COVID-19 Mental Health Task Force, and Dr. Simona Skripkauskaite, who works with the University of Oxford’s Co-SPACE study (COVID-19: Supporting Parents, Adolescents, and Children During Pandemics).Additional Resources about the Uneven Effects of the PandemicThe Pandemic Did Not Affect Mental Health the Way You Think by Lara Aknin, Jamil Zaki, and Elizabeth Dunn (The Atlantic)The Lancet COVID-19 Commission on Mental Health and WellbeingDr. Aknin's Helping and Happiness Lab - Simon Fraser UniversityCo-Space Study: Supporting Parents, Adolescents and Children during EpidemicsMeet Our GuestsDr. Lara Aknin is a Distinguished Associate Professor of Psychology at Simon Fraser University, former Fellow with the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, and editor of the World Happiness Report. She holds a PhD in Social Psychology from the University of British Columbia. Dr. Aknin’s research focuses on the antecedents and consequences of happiness and prosocial behavior. Most of her work examines how generous behavior makes people feel.Her research has been published in various academic journals, including Science, Nature Human Behaviour, the Lancet Public Health, as well as the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and has been covered in international media outlets such as the CBC, CNN, the Atlantic, Maclean’s Magazine, Forbes, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.Dr. Simona Skripkauskaite is a PostDoctoral Researcher at University of Oxford and works for Oxford’s Co-SPACE study (COVID-19: Supporting Parents, Adolescents and Children During Pandemics) and the OxWell Student Survey. Dr. Skripkauskaite also leads a project on ‘Learning from the trajectories of mental health challenges for children, young people and parents over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic’, which will compare how families have been affected by the pandemic in the UK and Japan. Overall, Dr. Skripkauskaite’s research to date has aimed to identify developmental processes underlying successful functioning, but has ranged across child and adolescent mental health, emotion regulation, and parent-child relationships, as well as neurodiversity, visual attention, and perception.

We’re back! This season, we’re diving into the newly published research about the impacts of COVID-19 on children, parents, and families. Along the way, we’ll talk with the researchers who conducted these studies and identify key insights we can incorporate into our lives right now.But before we review the research, we want to set the stage. How do we, as parents, understand the science behind articles, videos, and social media posts where we find this information?Join Dr. Amanda Zelechoski as she discusses the scientific process, understanding research jargon, and how to vet news sources with Dr. Eric Youngstrom, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at UNC-Chapel Hill and Co-Founder of Helping Give Away Psychological Science (HGAPS), and Melinda Wenner Moyer, a science journalist, author, and faculty member at NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute.Included in this episode about science literacy:What does “good science” look like?Why does it take so long for scientific findings to be published?What does it mean when something is said to be “research-based” or “science-based”?What tools can parents use to identify and access science reporting that they trust?Additional Resources for Understanding ResearchExplaining How Research Works + Infographic available in English and Spanish (National Institutes of Health - NIH)Why Do Researchers Do Different Kinds of Clinical Studies + Infographic available in English and Spanish (National Institutes of Health - NIH)Resources from Our GuestsHow to Raise Kids Who Aren’t Assholes: Science-based Strategies for Better Parenting—From Tots to Teens by Melinda Wenner Moyer“Schoolkids Are Falling Victim to Disinformation and Conspiracy Fantasies” by Melinda Wenner Moyer (Scientific American)Helping Give Away Psychological Science (HGAPS)Free Assessment Center - (HGAPS)Helping Give Away Psychological Science - WikiversityLearn More About Our Guests:Eric Youngstrom , PhDMelinda Wenner Moyer

As a parent, supporting your child day-in and day-out is a lot of work -- especially if your child has experienced or is experiencing stress and trauma. In this excerpt from the Roadmap to Resilience audio series, guest experts Dr. Archana Basu, Dr. David Corwin, Dr. Michael Salter, and Karen Zilberstein speak to the big and small ways parents and caregivers can help foster resilience in children. Learn more at www.roadmaptoresilience.org.