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Stephanie Hanson, an assistant professor of public and population health at South Dakota State University, recently presented a poster at the International Marcé Society Conference in Barcelona, Spain. 

The International Marcé Society for Perinatal Mental Health hosts an annual conference that was created to bring together research in postpartum mental disorders. Top researchers in perinatal mental health from across the world attend this conference each year. 

This year, Hanson presented a poster at the Marcé Society Conference titled “Understanding Perinatal Mental Health through and Empowerment Lens.” 

Hanson presented her research related to empowerment and loss of empowerment experienced by mothers. From participant responses during focus group sessions, Hanson developed two “word clouds” of terms used by participants when talking about their experience with their own pregnancy and their perceptions of a “typical” pregnancy. 

One major theme from Hanson’s findings was that “women feel a lack of choice and lack of sense of control as a result of their experiences” during their pregnancies. 

“Research has not yet, to my knowledge, really looked at the relationships between empowerment/disempowerment and perinatal mental health disorders, which is where my primary area of interest lies,” Hanson explained. 

“I believe there is an interplay that occurs between the empowerment or, more specifically, the disempowerment of women and the development of a subsequent perinatal mental health disorder. For individuals who have experienced a perinatal mental health disorder, this relationship seems to resonate pretty strongly, but there are few or no research studies really diving into the complexities of these relationships,” she added. 

Hanson is the first researcher to investigate applications of empowerment theory to women’s experiences with pregnancy and perinatal mental health. Empowerment theory was first developed by Marc A. Zimmerman in the 1990s as an approach that involves “for understanding the process and consequences of efforts to exert control and influence over decisions that affect one’s life, organizational functioning, and the quality of community life.” 

Hanson said her presentation and approach gained a lot of positive attention at the Marcé Society Conference. “While I was presenting my research, it was really validating to hear from others that the findings were interesting and that I was one to watch as I move forward with my career and research,” she said. 

The work Hanson presented is part of a larger project titled BIRTH-SD-AIM (Bridging Information and Resources to Transform Health for South Dakota parents – Assessing need and Implementing Maternal health safety bundles). 

The project work is focused on improving perinatal health outcomes in South Dakota by working with South Dakota hospitals to improve metrics related to perinatal substance use disorder and perinatal mental health. BIRTH-SD-AIM is one of two project currently under the BIRTH-SD umbrella. 

Hanson leads all projects under the BIRTH-SD umbrella. She is also the executive director of the recently founded South Dakota Perinatal Quality Collaborative. 

For more information about BIRTH-SD-AIM, visit the program webpage.