Trauma Informed Care in the Perinatal Period

The EditorsJulia Seng, Professor of Nursing, Obstetrics and Women's Studies at the University of Michigan, USA and Julie Taylor, NSPCC Professor of Child Protection, School of Health and Population Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK.The ContributorsCatherine Acton is a clinical psychologist working in a perinatal emotional health team at a large public maternity hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Kristen R. Choi is a nurse and PhD student at the University of Michigan School of Nursing, USA. Chris Cuthbert is the Head of Strategy and Development for Children Under One at the UK's National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Jane Fisher is Jean Hailes Professor of Women's Health, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University, Australia. Heather Rowe is Senior Research Fellow in the Jean Hailes Research Unit School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University, Australia. Mickey Sperlich is an experienced midwife and Assistant Professor of Social Work at the State University of New York at Buffalo, USA.

Studies of traumatic stress, attachment, and neurobiology confirm the importance of the mother and child bond for life-long health. Yet intergenerational cycles of childhood maltreatment and psychiatric vulnerability may endanger that bond to warrant a prevention approach. Trauma-informed care and interventions in maternity services may be needed.