Sharon Dekel, PhD, MS, MPhil is the Director of the Dekel Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry Harvard Medical School. Her research focuses on women’s mental health following the birth of a child, specifically focusing on traumatic childbirth and the mechanisms responsible for postpartum adjustment.
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Childbirth-related PTSD is relatively common; analysis of personal narratives provided by postpartum women may help to identify women with PTSD related to childbirth. -
Investigators Sharon Dekel, PhD and Lee Cohen, MD are working to improve the mental health of new mothers. -
Childbirth-related PTSD is relatively common; routine screening with a survey of PTSD symptoms may identify women in need of specific PTSD interventions. -
This research will ultimately help clinicians more fully understand postpartum mental health conditions and will translate to better, more comprehensive mental health care for mothers […] -
Acute stress symptoms were prominent in COVID-positive women at childbirth; however, increased acute stress was also evident in healthy COVID-negative women. -
PTSD commonly co-occurs with depressive symptoms, with 90% in this study reporting both.