Perinatal Health Psychology

3.00 credits · Undergraduate

Prereq: Third-year standing; PSYC 1001; PSYC 1011; PSYC 2611; 3 credits from PSYC at the 2000 level; or permission of the Department This course provides information about the biopsychosocial factors and experiences of women and men during the transition to parenthood, from preconception to three years postpartum. This specialized course integrates knowledge from health and behavioural sciences, namely psychoneuroendocrinology, obstetrics and gynecology, maternal-fetal medicine, psychiatry, nursing, midwifery, developmental and clinical health psychology. Topics covered include: access to prenatal care, infertility, complicated grief after pregnancy or perinatal loss, perinatal mood disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety, psychosis) and infant brain development, fetal growth, preterm birth, developmental origins of health and disease or DOHaD (e.g., fetal programming by epigenetic processes after environmental exposures such as parental lifestyle, nutrition, smoking, alcohol, obesity, and/or endocrine disruptor chemicals/toxins), attachment theory and early parenting. (Format: Lecture 3 hours) (Exclusion: PSYC 3991 Perinatal Health Psychology)