不良研究所

Every year, May is recognized as Maternal Mental Health Month. For Assistant Dean , one month alone isn鈥檛 enough.

Letourneau鈥檚 work 鈥� based on a simple, yet powerful concept of having a 鈥渃hild鈥檚 mind in mind鈥� 鈥� is shaping new approaches to care, ensuring women and families have the support they need to build strong, healthy relationships from the very beginning.

With more than in career research funding for programs such as , , and , and as holder of U不良研究所's Research Excellence Chair in Parent and Child Health, Letourneau is a leading figure in advancing maternal mental health and child development.

Seeing health through a wider lens

As she advanced in her education and career, Letourneau developed a growing interest in child and public health, as well as the unrealized potential in both areas.

鈥淗ealth is not just physical. It鈥檚 your social experiences, it鈥檚 your economic welfare, it鈥檚 your education, it鈥檚 the social support you have around you. Many important things contribute,鈥� Letourneau says. 

And that鈥檚 what excited her most: identifying the ways nurses make an impact in people鈥檚 lives, particularly through interventions, supports, services and other forms of care. 

With an early interest in parenting and child development, she saw an opportunity to meaningfully support that population, which ultimately led to the development of ATTACH.

Supporting parents from the inside out 

鈥淎lmost all parents, the vast majority, want to do the best by their children. They want to give them the best they can," says Letourneau. "Sometimes they鈥檙e limited by what their best looks like, but there鈥檚 so much motivation there.鈥�  

With this, supporting parents from the very beginning of their journey became the goal of the ATTACH parenting program. ATTACH is distinct from other parenting programs that Letourneau developed before or that are commonly offered. ATTACH focuses on building the skill of reflective function. Rather than teaching specific parenting behaviours, it supports parents regularly reflecting on their own thoughts and feelings, as well as those of their children. 

Developed with co-creator and former postdoctoral fellow Dr. Martha Hart, BA'05, PhD, ATTACH expanded from an initial focus on mothers to fathers and all primary caregivers, reflecting a more inclusive understanding of what it means to be a parent.

鈥淲hen parents take time to think about their child鈥檚 thoughts and feelings, they become more responsive and better able to meet their children鈥檚 needs,鈥� Letourneau says. 

Maternal Mental Health Month highlights the importance of supporting not just parents鈥� actions, but their emotional and cognitive well-being, an approach at the heart of Letourneau鈥檚 ATTACH program. 

From early support to lifelong health 

Alongside ATTACH, her work also extends into large research initiatives that deepen understanding of how early life experiences shape health, and how that evidence can improve care for families.

One is the APrON study, a long-term Alberta project following about 5,000 families since 2009 to understand how factors such as maternal health, nutrition, and social support during pregnancy and early childhood influence lifelong health and development.

Letourneau also leads AVA, a national initiative addressing gender-based violence and early life adversity by bringing together researchers and service providers to improve how evidence-based responses are developed and delivered in practice.

Letourneau is doing what she has always set out to do: turn nursing into real-world impact through programs that begin with parents and grow into national, life-changing initiatives. 

A national shift 

Letourneau had the opportunity to speak on the AVA program at the first , held in Toronto this past March. The summit reflected a broader national shift in women鈥檚 and maternal health, with a focus on moving research into practice and strengthening supports for women, families and communities.

For Letourneau, this national work connects directly to her long-standing focus on supporting parents from the very beginning through programs like ATTACH, and through broader efforts aimed at improving outcomes for families across generations.

Speaking about her work, emphasized the importance of nurses with advanced education leading research and working across disciplines, including health, social sciences and engineering, to respond to complex challenges in care.

There is still much work to be done in women鈥檚 and maternal health, but, at the heart of it, it comes back to something simple, Letourneau says.

鈥淚t鈥檚 about trying to help people," she says. "You don鈥檛 want people to suffer, and you don鈥檛 want intergenerational trauma to continue. You want to help kids get on the best possible trajectory in life. I think everybody wants that. In that sense, you鈥檙e really working in the same direction as parents.鈥�