Degree Name

Occupational Therapy Doctorate

Department

Occupational Therapy

First Advisor

Szu-Wei Chen

Abstract

There are significant gaps in maternal healthcare in rural communities in Illinois where only 65.4% of pregnant people live within 30 minutes of a hospital that provides maternity care (State of Illinois, 2025). Pregnant and postpartum individuals in the region are inadequately supported during their transition to motherhood within the current healthcare system. This capstone project aimed to serve women in Southern Illinois during the perinatal period through occupational therapy-based and trauma-informed educational content. The project was conducted at The Little Resource Center, a parenting and family support center in Carbondale, under the guidance of their staff. Three educational modules, or “mini courses,” were developed following an on-site needs assessment. Pregnant and postpartum community members were recruited to complete and evaluate the modules’ feasibility and usefulness through qualitative interviews. Despite a small sample size, all participants indicated that the format and length made the modules a resource that could be referred back to again and that the modules would be particularly helpful for first-time mothers.

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