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Occupational therapy eases emotional strain of high-risk pregnancies, study finds
Occupational therapy can ease anxiety and emotional strain for women experiencing high-risk pregnancies, with cognitive-based techniques found to be most effective, new research has revealed.
Joint research from Edith Cowan University and the University of St Augustine for Health Sciences reviewed a range of psychosocial occupational therapy approaches and found that cognitive-based interventions had the strongest impact on managing perinatal anxiety, depression and stress.
The review examined several therapy types, including cognitive-based, counselling-based, sensory-based, emotion-based and integrated approaches.
Dr Thuy Tran is occupational therapy lecturer at Edith Cowan University’s School of Medical and Health Sciences.
The researcher said: “There is a lot of research evidence that reveals high-risk pregnancies result in increased levels of anxiety, stress, depression and a reduced quality of life.
“And while research has been done on how psychosocial occupational therapy could assist in those areas, there was no evidence which method was most effective.”
Around one in five women experience high-risk pregnancies requiring specialised monitoring and care.
Such pregnancies — which may involve conditions like pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes or multiple births — often cause significant emotional distress, including fear, anxiety and uncertainty.
Occupational therapy helps people manage daily activities and life transitions through targeted interventions.
Psychosocial occupational therapy specifically addresses mental health and emotional wellbeing alongside functional support.
The researchers found that cognitive-based interventions were most effective for managing perinatal anxiety, depression and stress.
Counselling-based interventions had a moderate impact on anxiety, depression and quality of life, but a strong effect on reducing stress.
Sensory-based interventions appeared ineffective for anxiety, with limited evidence of impact on depression, stress or quality of life.
Lead author Dr Sabina Khan from the University of St Augustine for Health Sciences said the findings provide much-needed clarity about which approaches deliver the greatest benefit.
Khan said: “By identifying that cognitive-based and counselling-based interventions are the most effective in reducing anxiety, stress and depression, this research helps guide clinicians toward evidence-based practices that can meaningfully improve women’s wellbeing during a particularly vulnerable time.
“Women facing high-risk pregnancies frequently navigate fragmented systems.
“Embedding occupational therapy early helps close the gap between medical management and real-world function.”
Dr Tran said the research suggests practitioners should include cognitive-behavioural techniques in occupation-based sessions and place greater emphasis on emotional and cognitive assessment during the perinatal period.
The researcher said: “We need to have a holistic approach to working with clients to ensure that our strategies help them to function optimally.
“Whether this is in their new role as a mother, or their role as a mother to multiple children, or as a partner, or in their social role.”
The role of occupational therapists in women’s health is steadily growing in Australia.
Most practitioners work in private practice and are recognised as mental health care providers, making services accessible through mental health care plans, enhanced primary care plans or self-referral.
While some hospitals already employ occupational therapists in this field, there are calls for this to become standard care nationwide.
Dr Tran urged pregnant women, particularly those experiencing high-risk pregnancies, to seek intervention early.
Dr Tran said: “Pregnancy is such an intense phase, with women experiencing significant emotional, psychological and physical changes in their bodies, all while their social and work roles are also transitioning.
“A lot of focus is placed on the baby, but we don’t really talk about the emotional wellbeing of the mother and the transition from one role to the next.
“Having an occupational therapist can provide you with strategies to help that transition.”
By Women’s Health Week
With four weeks to go until Women’s Health Week USA, the excitement is ramping up!
The final early bird pricing closes this Friday, the full speaker lineup is confirmed, and a record number of pitch applications signals the depth of innovation now moving through the sector as we enter the Era of Scale.
Women’s Health Week USA takes place May 13-14 at the New York Academy of Medicine in New York City, bringing together 600+ senior decision makers spanning investors, founders, multinationals, payers, providers and policymakers around one shared agenda: taking women’s health from growth to scale.
Early bird tickets are available until midnight on Friday, April 17.
Book by then to save up to $600 on your place
The Full Speaker Lineup is Confirmed
The full speaker lineup has finally been confirmed, with 80+ voices spanning investment, innovation, policy, medtech and pharma.
The programme reflects the event’s 2026 theme, The Era of Scale, moving beyond early validation into the harder work of institutionalising women’s health as a category.
Confirmed speakers include Kate Ryder (Maven Clinic), Mallika Mundkur (FDA), Melanie Newman (Planned Parenthood), Nichole Young-Lin (Google), Jill Angelo (OURA), David Stern (Kindbody) and Tammy Sun (Carrot Fertility), alongside representation from the NYSE, ARPA-H, the World Health Organization, Samsung Next, Novo Holdings and more.
170 Pitch Applications and Counting
The Women’s Health Week USA Innovation Showcase received a record 170 applications ahead of its April 10 close, the highest number in the event’s history.
The volume reflects the growing depth of innovation in the sector, but it was the quality of submissions that stood out, with companies across Medical Devices & Therapeutics and Consumer & Tech bringing genuinely differentiated solutions to conditions that have been underserved for decades.
The selected companies will get the chance to pitch on the mainstage at the New York Academy of Medicine in front of the full audience of 600+ investors, corporates, innovators and strategic partners.
Results will be announced next week.
Register your interest to find out who makes the WHW USA Innovator Class of 2026
NYSE Partnership: A Quick Recap
For those who missed our announcement on Femtech World last week, the New York Stock Exchange is the Official Exchange Partner of Women’s Health Week USA 2026.
On the morning of May 13, WHW will feature in the NYSE Market Update, reaching approximately 200 million viewers.
Women’s Health Week will also light up the North Star Billboard in Times Square for a full week around the event, with live and taped interviews distributed across NYSE Live and Taking Stock.
It remains one of the most significant institutional endorsements the women’s health sector has seen.
Early Bird Pricing Closes This Friday
Tickets increase by up to $600 after midnight on Friday, April 17. For anyone with May 13-14 in their calendar, this week is the window to move.
You have until Friday to nominate your femtech company of the year.
The award is one of 10 featuring at Femtech World’s third annual awards event, which attracts entries from across the UK, EU and Europe.
The Company of the Year Award is for companies that have demonstrated exceptional leadership in tackling women’s health needs through groundbreaking products, services or platforms that are shaping the future of global femtech.
If your company is driving innovation, impact and growth in this space, this award was made for you.
About the sponsor: Femovate
The category is backed by Femovate, the global femtech incubator using design to fuel innovation across every stage of a woman’s health journey, from proactive prevention through to personalised treatment.
Femovate has invested over US$2 million in design capital, working side-by-side with founding teams to bring market-ready solutions to life.
The startups it supports have collectively raised US$120 million, launched 30 products, and secured seven FDA clearances.
Why enter?
The Femtech World Awards are free to enter.
Winners and shortlisted companies receive extensive coverage across all Femtech World platforms.
Winners will also receive a trophy and the opportunity to be featured in an interview for the publication.
Find out more about the Femtech World Award and enter here by 4pm BST on Friday 17.
Women with osteoporosis may be more likely to carry a gene linked to Alzheimer’s, according to new research.
Scientists found that APOE4, the most common genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s, can weaken bone quality in women, even when standard scans appear normal.
The study, carried out by researchers at the Buck Institute for Research on Ageing in California, US, and UC San Francisco, suggests the gene may damage bone at a microscopic level long before any visible signs.
These changes can emerge as early as midlife and remain invisible to routine imaging tests used to assess bone strength.
The findings suggest a link between Alzheimer’s risk and skeletal health and could help pave the way for earlier detection of both conditions.
Professor Birgit Schilling, a senior author of the study, said: “What makes this finding so striking is that bone quality is being compromised at a molecular level that a standard bone scan simply will not catch.
“APOE4 is quietly disrupting the very cells responsible for keeping bone strong – and it is doing this specifically in females, which mirrors what we see with Alzheimer’s disease risk.”
Doctors have long observed that people with Alzheimer’s suffer higher rates of bone fractures, while osteoporosis in women is known to be one of the earliest predictors of the disease.
Now scientists believe they may have uncovered why.
Researchers led by Dr Charles Schurman carried out a detailed analysis of proteins in aged mouse bone and found that tissue was unusually rich in molecules linked to neurological disease, including those associated with Alzheimer’s.
In particular, long-lived bone cells known as osteocytes showed elevated levels of APOE, with levels twice as high in older female mice compared with younger or male animals.
Further experiments using genetically modified mice revealed that APOE4 had a strong and sex-specific impact on both bone and brain tissue.
The disruption at the protein level was even greater in bone than in the brain.
However, the bone structure itself appeared completely normal under scans.
Instead, the gene interfered with a key maintenance process inside bone cells, preventing them from repairing microscopic channels that keep bones strong and resilient.
When this process breaks down, bones become more fragile even if they look healthy on standard imaging.
These results suggest bone cells could potentially act as early biological warning signs of cognitive decline in women carrying APOE4.
Professor Lisa Ellerby, another senior author, said: “We think targeting these cells may open a new front in preserving bone quality in this population.”
Experts say the findings highlight the need to view the body as an interconnected system rather than treating diseases in isolation.
Dementia, of which Alzheimer’s is the most common form, remains one of the UK’s biggest health challenges.
Around 900,000 people are currently living with the condition, a figure expected to rise to 1.6 million by 2040.
It is already the leading cause of death, responsible for more than 74,000 deaths each year.
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