Specialization
Perinatal Mental Health, Epidemiology; Resilience, Parental Bonding ; Fetal Growth; Child Development
Focus of research
At the department of Midwifery Science I am coordinating the research line Mental Health During and After pregnancy. My main research interest is (a) on identifying psychosocial and obstetric factors related to pre- and postnatal positive and negative mental health; and (b) on the evaluation of preventive interventions promoting mental health in the peripartum period. Moreover, I am interested in (understanding mechanisms underlying) the associations between positive and negative peripartum mental health and child behavioral and developmental outcomes.
Next to this, I am dedicated to research within the fields of midwifery and obstetrics addressing the detection of fetal growth restriction (FGR) and consequences of FGR for mother and child. Moreover, I am leading a large-scale project addressing the improvement of secondary prevention and integrated care for unwanted pregnancies (IPC UP study).
My research is mainly based on large-scale birth cohort studies and clinical trials.