Mickey Sperlich, a community-based nurse midwife, has been coordinating research on a study of PTSD in women in their childbearing year at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Research on Women and Gender. Specifically focusing on mothers with sexual abuse histories, she and colleague Julia Seng published a book, Survivor Moms: Women’s Stories of Birthing, Mothering & Healing After Sexual Abuse. One of my students introduced me to the book and their work last year, but I hadn’t come across anything that would fit with this site–until now.
The University of Michigan has a short podcast featuring Ms. Sperlich and her research. It’s less than 10 minutes long, and perfect for those of us who work with this population, even in non-forensic settings. I think it’s a fantastic reminder of the challenges many of our patients have coming into the healthcare setting–and a perfect resource for me to recommend for the workshop I’m teaching Wed afternoon on Sexual Violence as a Healthcare Issue.
You can read Ms. Sperlich’s blog, which includes survivor stories, here.