Bio

Clinical Focus

  • Residency
  • General Pediatrics
  • Maternal and Child Health

Honors & Awards

  • Community Benefits Grant, Lucile Packard Children?s Hospital Stanford (2016-2018)
  • Resident Investigator Award, Academic Pediatric Association (2017)
  • MD with Distinction, University of California, San Francisco - Clinical and Translational Research Pathway (2015)
  • Pathways Grant, University of California, San Francisco - Resource Allocation Program for Trainees (2014)
  • Travel Scholarship Award, American Psychosomatic Society (2013)
  • Schoeneman Endowment Fellowship, University of California, Berkeley - University of California, San Francisco Joint Medical Program (2011-2013)
  • Dean?s Quarterly Fellowship, University of California, San Francisco (2011)
  • Cum Laude, Arizona State University (2004)
  • Provost Scholarship, Arizona State University (2000-2004)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

  • Delegate to the State Government Affairs Committee, American Academy of Pediatrics (2017 - Present)
  • Member, Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society (2017 - Present)
  • Member, Stanford Society of Physician Scholars (2016 - Present)
  • Member, Academic Pediatric Association (2016 - Present)
  • Stanford Program Delegate, American Academy of Pediatrics (2015 - 2017)

Professional Education

  • Residency, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford, Pediatrics (2018)
  • MD, University of California, San Francisco (2015)
  • MS, University of California, Berkeley, Public Health (2013)
  • BS, Arizona State University, Supply Chain Management (2004)

Links

Research & Scholarship

Current Research and Scholarly Interests

Pediatricians' Role in Family Planning, Social Determinants of Preterm Birth

Research Projects

  • Parental Family Planning in Pediatrics (Scholarly Concentration Project)

    This mixed-methods study explores family, clinician, and administrator perspectives of parental
    family planning in three pediatric settings: primary care, high-risk infant follow-up, and the stepdown
    NICU.

    Time Period

    2016 - 2018

    Location

    palo alto, ca

    Collaborators

Publications

All Publications

  • A Prospective Investigation of Prenatal Mood and Childbirth Perceptions in an Ethnically Diverse, Low-Income Sample BIRTH-ISSUES IN PERINATAL CARE Congdon, J. L., Adler, N. E., Epel, E. S., Laraia, B. A., Bush, N. R. 2016; 43 (2): 159-166

    Abstract

    Few studies have examined prenatal mood as a means to identify women at risk for negative childbirth experiences. We explore associations between prenatal mood and birth perceptions in a socioeconomically diverse, American sample.We conducted a prospective study of 136 predominantly low-income and ethnic minority women of mixed parity. Prenatal measures of perceived stress, pregnancy-related anxiety, and depressive symptoms were used to predict maternal perceptions of birth experiences 1 month postpartum, using the childbirth experience questionnaire (CEQ; 1).After adjusting for sociodemographic variables and mode of delivery, higher third-trimester stress predicted worse CEQ total scores. This association was predominantly explained by two CEQ domains: own capacity (e.g., feelings of control and capability), and perceived safety. Pregnancy-related anxiety and depressive symptoms correlated with perceived stress, though neither independently predicted birth experience. An unplanned cesarean delivery was associated with a worse CEQ total score. Vaginal delivery predicted greater perceived safety. Altogether, sociodemographic covariates, mode of delivery, and prenatal mood accounted for 35 percent of the variance in birth experience (p < 0.001).Our finding that prenatal stress explains a significant and likely clinically meaningful proportion of the variance in birth experience suggests that women perceive and recall their birth experiences through a lens that is partially determined by preexisting personal circumstances and emotional reserves. Since childbirth perceptions have implications for maternal and child health, patient satisfaction, and health care expenditures, these findings warrant consideration of prenatal stress screening to target intervention for women at risk for negative birth experiences.

    View details for DOI 10.1111/birt.12221

    View details for Web of Science ID 000383348100009

    View details for PubMedID 26948850

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