A UTRGV occupational therapy doctoral student is conducting a preliminary study about Hispanic women in the Rio Grande Valley and their mental health after a high-risk pregnancy.
Neida Gutierrez said she has been gathering data for the study, focusing on Hispanic women who are pregnant.
“So, specifically, I’m trying to get data on women that have the label of high-risk pregnancy or that are on bed rest,” Gutierrez said.
She said previous research has shown some factors after a high-risk pregnancy or prescribed bed rest are either a decline or significant decrease in mental health and physical factors.
“So, as an occupational therapy student, our scope of practice is in both,” Gutierrez said. “So, it’s in physical health, the daily occupations that, you know, people do what they cannot do and also mental health.”
She wants to understand women’s mental health and dive more into the physical health of these women, their motivators and resilience.
“I think that’s really important for any practitioners, whether they’re occupational therapists, or anyone here in the Valley, to understand these situations,” Gutierrez said.
She said physicians prescribe bed rest to women after a high-risk pregnancy and, based on her preliminary literature review, in some cases, it had more negative than positive effects.
Gutierrez explained some of the mental effects on Hispanic women who participated in the study were postpartum depression, anxiety, depression, stress and feeling of isolation.
“There’s a lot of different aspects,” she said. “Negative aspects that we, kind of, have against us, but … there’s also a lot of positive, which is what I also try to highlight.”
Gutierrez said the study is to give physicians and practitioners more data on what women are facing, so women can get better quality clinical decisions.
She recommends women who have been prescribed bed rest to read, listen to music and adapt to the environment, so they still feel that sense of independence.
“It’s really important the support that these women have in order to make sure that they feel like they are moms,” Gutierrez said. “That transition of motherhood might be very challenging.”
In an email to The Rider on Nov. 15, Gutierrez wrote that she started gathering information for her literature review in May. The survey for the study went live in August and will close around mid-January 2025.
She said the research will be presented to the Entry-Level Doctor of Occupational Therapy Department faculty and students, and shared in conferences such as the Engaged Scholar Symposium by the Office of Engaged Scholarship & Learning, and in the Texas Occupational Therapy Association conference.
“So far, we are still needing more participants,” Gutierrez said. “Our goals is to reach about 30 for each group, women with ‘normal’ pregnancies and women who have the labels of high risk and/or prescribed bed rest.”
She said the findings of the study will be shared by the end of the spring or summer.
“It’s really important for us as students to do research that motivates us and that is going to ultimately help our populations that are underserved and underrepresented,” Gutierrez said.
Dahlia Castillo, a UTRGV occupational therapy assistant professor, said the study is important for the community because in 2022, one in 10 live births in the United States were preterm births.
“And while this has improved over time, this is still quite a significant number, that’s 10%,” Castillo said.
She said the process for the research began when Gutierrez, who is required to do research for the class, approached her with the idea.
“I actually fit this criteria when I had babies,” Castillo said. “My kids are 29 and 26, so I was on bed rest for both of my babies. So, this is something that really interested me.”
She said the specific aim of the study is to determine if anxiety and depression exist at the levels that they expect them to.
“There really is a major gap in current research findings, primarily for Hispanic women,” Castillo said. “A lot of the research out there is on other ethnicities or non-Hispanic individuals.”
She said it is important to know in order to develop some sort of intervention for these individuals to help them with their anxiety and depression.
Leila Rodriguez, a nursing student, said she was not aware of the study but believes it is important for women to be aware of the mental health factors after a high-risk pregnancy.
Accounting freshman Elena Morales said she was not aware of the study but believes it is important to know about the possible complications a high-risk pregnancy may bring.
Morales said it is important to have a study that focuses on Hispanic women in the Valley since the number of Hispanics is higher than other populations.
Those interested in being part of this study may contact neida.gutierrez01@utrgv.edu for more information.
