Margaret Bublitz, PhD, will research maternal mental health in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
The US Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board have selected two Brown University faculty members as Fulbright US Scholars: Margaret Bublitz, PhD, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, of psychiatry and human behavior, and of medicine; and Srinivas Reddy, PhD, a visiting assistant professor of religious studies.
Fulbright Scholar Awards are prestigious and competitive fellowships that provide unique opportunities for scholars to conduct research and teach abroad. Both awards will enable global fieldwork to advance their scholarship during the 2024-2025 academic year.
Margaret Bublitz
Bublitz, a faculty member at The Warren Alpert Medical School, is a clinical psychologist in perinatal mental health. She has established and directed integrated behavioral health services in women’s primary care and obstetrics and gynecology at The Miriam Hospital. A clinician scientist, Bublitz studies the pathways linking psychological stress before and during pregnancy to adverse perinatal health, as well as novel psychological approaches to prevent and treat obstetric complications.
Backed by a Fulbright Global Scholar Award, Bublitz will research maternal mental health in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Spending two months in each country, she will interview health care providers, policymakers, and community members about best practices in maternal mental health, while also exchanging knowledge about mental health services at primary care at ob/gyn offices.
The UK and New Zealand have mostly better mental health outcomes compared to the US, Bublitz says, despite being of similar economic standing and having similar risk factors for maternal mental health conditions. In addition, New Zealand leads the world in indigenous psychology, and she hopes to learn more about how this is accomplished in maternal mental health care settings.
“Rather than reinvent the wheel, I thought it would make sense to go to other places and learn about their models of service delivery,” Bublitz says. “That way, we can identify best practices and incorporate new ideas for maternal mental health care delivery that can be shared globally.”
