From 16 to 18 September 2024, the Society for Reproductive and Infant Psychology (SRIP) will hold its 44th annual international conference on the medical campus of Dresden University of Technology. Around 200 national and international scientists, practitioners and students will use this opportunity to share the latest research findings on psychological aspects of reproductive health (including mental illness in the period around birth) and the impact on early childhood development. A lecture on ‘Birth trauma - when the start of life shapes the family’ will be offered to interested members of the public.

The early years shape life: At the SRIP Annual Conference, participants will have the opportunity to discuss and exchange views on psychological aspects of reproductive health, birth and the transition to parenthood as well as early childhood development. The conference is being held in Dresden for the first time this year and is being organised by Prof. Anna-Lena Zietlow (Chair of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Faculty of Psychology) and Prof. Susan Garthus-Niegel (Institute and Polyclinic for Occupational and Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine).

© Eva Bütow

‘It is a great pleasure for us to bring such a high-calibre congress to Dresden. We are looking forward to the diverse and inspiring discussions and the dialogue with our international colleagues. Our aim is that this conference will provide important new impulses for both research and practice in peripartum psychology, opening up new approaches and insights for the future,’ says organiser Anna-Lena Zietlow, explaining the aims of the conference.

Over the three days of the conference, various facets of the lives of young families will be examined from a psychological perspective. Key topics include the parent-child bonding, fertility and reproductive health, as well as the loss of a child during pregnancy or shortly after birth. Another focus is on parental psychological disorders and their influence on the parent-child relationship and the child development. There will also be exciting presentations on new insights into the division of care work and (in)equality between partners in the transition to parenthood. The topic of traumatic births and coping with birth anxiety will also be addressed. In addition, support options and intervention programmes to promote the mental health of mothers and fathers and the quality of the parent-child relationship will be discussed.

Next to keynote speeches by renowned international experts such as Prof Dr Prabha Chandra (India), Prof Dr Natalie Rosen (Canada) and Prof Dr Kathryn Humphreys (USA), there will be specialist workshops and poster presentations.

Public lecture on 18 September 2024

Prof. Antje Horsch (University of Lausanne (Switzerland) will speak on Wednesday, 18 September 2024 on the topic ‘Birth trauma: When the start of life shapes the family’. The public lecture will take place in the Dean's Auditorium of the Faculty of Medicine, House 40 (Fiedlerstraße 27, 01307 Dresden). The language of the lecture will be German. Admission is free of charge.

Further information: https://www.srip.org/conference

Contact:
Prof Dr Anna-Lena Zietlow
Institute for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy
Chair of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology
E-mail: