Primary prevention: Utilizing EMDR during pregnancy

The perinatal period is one of both potential vulnerability and developmental promise for pregnant people, their babies, and families. Whether or not the index trauma is related to pregnancy, research documents the detrimental effects of untreated PTSD on pregnant people, pregnancy itself, developing fetuses, and newborn babies. Trauma-focused therapies such as Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) have demonstrated efficacy in the perinatal period. Meta-analysis found no evidence for adverse outcomes when using trauma-focused therapies during pregnancy. Notably finding, “no support for a course of action in which the continued presence of PTSD is preferable to the low chance of short-term physiological arousal during treatment for PTSD.” (Baas, et al. 2020). Nevertheless, guidance around use of EMDR during pregnancy is inconsistent. This presentation will outline the prevalence of PTSD in the perinatal period, discuss EMDR’s efficacy with this population, and walk through clinical decision making around utilizing EMDR therapy during pregnancy.

Conference

English

Mara Tesler Stein

Stein, M. T. (2023, August). Primary prevention: Utilizing EMDR during pregnancy. Presentation at the at the 28th EMDR International Association Conference, Arlington, VA