In September 2020, Jennifer E. Johnson, a professor of public health at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, was awarded a five-year, $3,358,550 grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health to study treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD) among women who have recently experienced perinatal loss (inclusive of miscarriage, stillbirth, and early neonatal death).
The grant will provide support to test the effectiveness of interpersonal psychotherapy for major depression following perinatal loss in a sample of 274 women in Michigan (Flint and Detroit). This will be the first fully powered randomized trial of treatment for any psychiatric disorder following perinatal loss.
The hope is that this study will show how important it is to provide more compassionate and effective care to women after perinatal area. According to Johnson, having a low income doubles a woman’s risk of stillbirth and also doubles her risk of perinatal depression, so centering the study in Flint and Detroit may be especially beneficial to that area’s population.
What other studies have told us about depression and pregnancy loss:
- Bereaved mothers have four times higher odds of depressive symptoms compared to nonbereaved parents (source)
- Depression has been shown to affect up to 20 percent of women following a miscarriage (source)
- 10 percent to 15 percent of women who miscarry reach the clinical threshold for a major depressive disorder in the months after the loss (source)
- Women may experience depressive symptoms up to nine months after a loss (source)
Knowing this might not make you feel better in the midst of your grief. However, knowing that the problem is being studied, and that trials are underway, offer hope that as the silence around pregnancy loss lessens, treatment and care for those who are trying to heal will grow.
Finding help and support to get through loss
- If you plan on using insurance, visit your insurance provider’s website to find help in your area
- You can also visit PsychologyToday.com/us/therapists to find a therapist, psychiatrist, treatment center, or support group near you
- Community counseling centers, which are typically nonprofit and funded with donations and grants, often offer sliding-scale fees
