Welcome to our latest blog. It is five months since the International Network for Perinatal PTSD published its first blog. At that time, the Network comprised a small group of interested parties and a web-site. Today, we have 76 subscribers, a twitter feed and have published a number of communications. This week, we thought that we would take stock of how we are doing, what you can get from the network and how you can get involved.
How are we doing?
Our subscribers and members are located across the globe, from America, Australia, Japan and a number of European countries, as well as the United Kingdom. The members all have a special interest in perinatal PTSD, and come from backgrounds in academia, clinical psychology and the charity sector.
The aim of the network is to disseminate research about perinatal PTSD – and to stimulate discussion both about research that has been completed and research that needs to be done. To that end, we have published a number of blogs, including consideration of the impact of DSM-V on perinatal PTSD, predicting and measuring perinatal PTSD, treating perinatal PTSD and the impact of childbirth upon fathers. Further blogs are planned for the very near future.
What can you get from the network?
You can access information about research into perinatal PTSD, including our pre-set search on PubMed here. As the network grows, there will be greater opportunities for information sharing and collaboration with others. Also, since the network is still at a relatively young stage, there is scope for us all to shape its direction in a way that satisfies the needs of our members, subscribers and visitors – one reason for you to get involved…
How can you get involved?
Our members and subscribers have a great deal of knowledge and experience in this area so please contribute to the network through commenting on blogs, sending us your own blog articles, and letting us know of any relevant talks, events or conferences so we can publicise these and let other members know about them.
We would like the blog to be representative of the Network’s focus on sharing knowledge. Comments relating to the blogs are encouraged – we are always interested to hear your views – and there have been a wide range of replies and comments to the blogs posted to date. In addition, we are trying to increase awareness of PTSD and encourage network membership through social media: our twitter feed already has 37 followers!
So, the message this week is that we are attracting steadily increasing numbers of subscribers and members from all over the globe. We are working hard to raise the profile of perinatal PTSD through a variety of mechanisms – and we want all of our members and subscribers to be able to join in offering their expertise and experience, whether that be writing a blog, giving us ideas for developing the Network, identifying topics that should be covered in the blogs, raising the profile of the Network, re-tweeting us or just carrying on reading our pages. Working together to raise the profile of perinatal PTSD, to learn more about it and to find the best way to treat it – or even to protect against it.
Twitter: @birthPTSD