Helping soothe mom's nerves: Kent program helps Black moms manage PTSD

KENT − Many women don't understand what they're feeling in the weeks before and after giving birth.

"What you hear is, 'You mean there's a name for this? I just thought it was the way it was supposed to be,'" said Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett, a psychologist at Kent State University.

Neal-Barnett said the perinatal experience is particularly prominent among the Black women with whom she works to help reduce stress and PTSD. The researcher said many of those in her program have experienced multiple traumas over their lifetimes.

She also said they are less likely to be aware of the problem, or to receive help.

Neal-Barnett heads the Spirit of Motherhood program, which offers programs to help the women address issues such as anxiety to help create better outcomes for parents and children. The PTSD program recently received a $300,000 grant from the Anthem Foundation.

The program seeks to empower the women and reduce infant and maternal mortality.

"Many women have gone unheard their whole lives and are finally able to tell their story," states a flyer for the program. "Listening to Black women gives them the power to advocate for what they need, empower for other women around them and share their positive journey to healing."

How is PTSD usually treated?

Neal-Barnett said her program and research focuses on perinatal women, which includes those who are pregnant and extends through the baby's first year.

Research has shown that PTSD affects cortisol levels, and can lead to postpartum depression. Children of mothers with untreated PTSD are more likely to be stressed themselves. Often, when moms bring up PTSD symptoms to their providers, it is dismissed, which makes it even harder to get help.

Typically, PTSD is treated in hour-long, in-person sessions over the course of 11 weeks. This method takes a huge chunk of time, especially for those with transportation barriers who often are juggling other appointments and time commitments.

How is Spirit of Motherhood different?

The Spirit of Motherhood program condenses the counseling sessions to five virtual, 30-minute meetings in which participants write about traumatic experiences in detail. WET is designed help the women identify traumas over their lifetime. Many, Neal-Barnett said, have endured multiple traumas, such as car crashes, abuse and violent deaths of loved ones. She said the women often have been struggling with PTSD for years.

All of the people working with the moms are Black. Bringing the sessions into their homes increases accessibility, retention and comfort, which is important because mistrust and lack of follow-up are common.

"Research shows that people have better outcomes if everyone they work with is Black," she said. "There's a level of explaining you don't have to do."

Women who participate in written exposure therapy, she said, see a 50% to 100% decrease in PTSD symptoms, Neal-Barnett said.

The program also includes lessons in parenting skills in a "Sister Circle," during which women discuss their concerns with their peers. Among the topics is co-parenting. The circle also covers such topics as interacting with babies using music.

"It increases interaction between the mother and baby, and helps with attachment," she said.

The co-parenting discussion takes many forms.

Neal-Barnett said it can involve ideas such as a mom saying she wants her child's father to show up when he says he will, or advice such as a mother saying she finds it best to wait until her child's father has eaten before approaching him. Still others might offer other tips from their own experience.

"There's a sense of being heard, a sense of belonging," she said.

She said moms are motivated by love for their children.

"What brings them in is 'I want better for my child,'" she said. "They want what every mother wants, which is for their child to have a better experience than they had themselves."

Birthing Beautiful partnership

Debra Bell, lead doula at Birthing Beautiful Communities in Cleveland, said the organization has been partnering with Neal-Barnett for about seven years. It started when the KSU researcher came into the Cleveland program to help clients manage their stress.

Birthing Beautiful now sponsors its own support groups, and Bell said some clients choose to attend both "so they can get all the help they can get. It helps them in the future."

Bell said she shares stories of her experience parenting four children, and also the experiences of her mother and grandmother, who raised 12 children. Sometimes, she said, participants are withdrawn when the classes start, but end up engaging with one another and ask about their children.

"We tell them if you've burned your support system in the past you can build a new community," she said. "The ladies like to hear that we don't know it all. We tell them 'We're just parents like you."

How it all got started

Neal-Barnett is the author of "Soothe Your Nerves: The Black Woman's Guide to Understanding and Overcoming Anxiety, Panic and Fear."

She said she has been researching anxiety among Black perinatal women since she was an intern at a Pittsburgh hospital. That hospital, she said, brought in some of the foremost experts to speak about anxiety in children. One of those experts, Neal-Barnett said, asserted that Black and white children had the same fears, except that Black children also were afraid of rats and roaches.

Neal-Barnett said the comment left her seething with anger.

An instructor, she said, advised her that she could get angry, or do research, but she couldn't do both. She said she has been researching anxiety and its impact on Black women and families ever since.

"You can't do this work and know that Black women are dying and not work to make a difference," she said. "I don't believe I was given this skill and this talent to use it foolishly."

How can women sign up?

Neal-Barnett said the program is still waiting for approval in order to get started, which is expected later this month.

However, moms who email now will receive information to begin the process. Email escentral@gmail.com or aneal@kent.edu for information. They will receive an electronic "save-the-date" message and more information about when the program will be up and running.

Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at 330-298-1139 or dsmith@recordpub.com.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Kent program helps Black moms manage PTSD, stress