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Maria Muzik, MD Kicks Off the 2015 Postpartum Support International Annual Conference with Keynote Address
On Friday, June 26 Dr. Maria Muzik, Assistant Professor with the University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry served as the keynote speaker
at the 2015 Postpartum Support International (PSI) Annual Conference in Plymouth, Michigan. The theme of the conference was "planting seeds of hope, overcoming stigma, increasing options, and creating innovative treatments' for perinatal mental health. [caption id="attachment_2073" align="alignright" width="214"]![]()
and
finally her exposure to traumatic experiences such as childhood abuse or domestic violence. Recognizing the power of these moderators to shape child outcomes, Muzik stated that we "need multi-level interventions and approaches to address [them]" to make a true impact. The longer a mother is chronically depressed and the more she is additionally challenged by the above stated risks, the greater the risk for her child to fall short regarding optimal development. Muzik stressed that "reaching
and supporting mothers during peripartum"
has a two-generation impact,
because it allows to impact the child's trajectory," as "parenting can silence genetic vulnerability" caused by in utero effects or inherent genetic coding. Muzik supported this point through her own research
evidencing
how a mother's parenting quality can interact with a specific
genetic variation around
the dopamine receptor 4 (DRD4) gene and what is commonly seen as more risk prone: the DRD4 7-repeat variant. The presence of this 7-repat variant has been linked with greater proneness for the behavioral phenotypes associated with conditions such as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or greater risk taking and impulsivity. Muzik found, replicating prior work in older children, that when infants carried the 7-repeat DRD4 variant they were highly sensitive to their mothers' parenting quality. In the context of sensitive parenting the presence of the risk variant was buffered and the infants fared well; however, in the presence of insensitive parenting the infants who were 7-repeat carriers did worse. Thus, just as positive parenting can silence a gene, trauma in the form of "toxic stress' caused by a mother's chronic/or severe depression can have the opposite effect. Muzik gave hope to the audience though stating that "it's never too late" to tap into the power of parenting. She addressed the fact that brain plasticity is life long and change is always possible, though it does get more challenging the older you get. Dr. Muzik ignited the crowd providing an example from her own program called "Mom Power," an attachment based parenting program for mothers with young children that aims to promote positive parenting and well-being in mothers who struggle with depression, trauma, stress and isolation through engagement, nurturance, learning and empowerment.
The program taps into protective factors, engages parenting partners, and is driven by the input of mothers. The goal is to promote mothers' resilience and strengthen their capacity for empathic and sensitive parenting, and to "overcome shame and stigma so moms can have hope and be the best mothers they want to be." Muzik also shared research data of her program regarding improvements in mental health and parenting, while decreasing stress and helplessness. Dr. Muzik closed her keynote speech with a call to action for all of those in the audience: "We know the impact of untreated depression; we know the impact of all the additional risks such as trauma exposure …..This knowledge is just one piece of the puzzle…We have the research, we have the data, now…how do we translate this knowledge into action. How do we build effective programs that reach all those who need it? All children deserve to have a mother who is well." For more information on the University of Michigan Women and Infants Mental Health Program please visit http://www.psych.med.umich.edu/patient-care/women-and-infants-mental-health-clinic/.
at the 2015 Postpartum Support International (PSI) Annual Conference in Plymouth, Michigan. The theme of the conference was "planting seeds of hope, overcoming stigma, increasing options, and creating innovative treatments' for perinatal mental health. [caption id="attachment_2073" align="alignright" width="214"]
and
finally her exposure to traumatic experiences such as childhood abuse or domestic violence. Recognizing the power of these moderators to shape child outcomes, Muzik stated that we "need multi-level interventions and approaches to address [them]" to make a true impact. The longer a mother is chronically depressed and the more she is additionally challenged by the above stated risks, the greater the risk for her child to fall short regarding optimal development. Muzik stressed that "reaching
and supporting mothers during peripartum"
has a two-generation impact,
because it allows to impact the child's trajectory," as "parenting can silence genetic vulnerability" caused by in utero effects or inherent genetic coding. Muzik supported this point through her own research
evidencing
how a mother's parenting quality can interact with a specific
genetic variation around
the dopamine receptor 4 (DRD4) gene and what is commonly seen as more risk prone: the DRD4 7-repeat variant. The presence of this 7-repat variant has been linked with greater proneness for the behavioral phenotypes associated with conditions such as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or greater risk taking and impulsivity. Muzik found, replicating prior work in older children, that when infants carried the 7-repeat DRD4 variant they were highly sensitive to their mothers' parenting quality. In the context of sensitive parenting the presence of the risk variant was buffered and the infants fared well; however, in the presence of insensitive parenting the infants who were 7-repeat carriers did worse. Thus, just as positive parenting can silence a gene, trauma in the form of "toxic stress' caused by a mother's chronic/or severe depression can have the opposite effect. Muzik gave hope to the audience though stating that "it's never too late" to tap into the power of parenting. She addressed the fact that brain plasticity is life long and change is always possible, though it does get more challenging the older you get. Dr. Muzik ignited the crowd providing an example from her own program called "Mom Power," an attachment based parenting program for mothers with young children that aims to promote positive parenting and well-being in mothers who struggle with depression, trauma, stress and isolation through engagement, nurturance, learning and empowerment.
The program taps into protective factors, engages parenting partners, and is driven by the input of mothers. The goal is to promote mothers' resilience and strengthen their capacity for empathic and sensitive parenting, and to "overcome shame and stigma so moms can have hope and be the best mothers they want to be." Muzik also shared research data of her program regarding improvements in mental health and parenting, while decreasing stress and helplessness. Dr. Muzik closed her keynote speech with a call to action for all of those in the audience: "We know the impact of untreated depression; we know the impact of all the additional risks such as trauma exposure …..This knowledge is just one piece of the puzzle…We have the research, we have the data, now…how do we translate this knowledge into action. How do we build effective programs that reach all those who need it? All children deserve to have a mother who is well." For more information on the University of Michigan Women and Infants Mental Health Program please visit http://www.psych.med.umich.edu/patient-care/women-and-infants-mental-health-clinic/.