“I felt really out of my body,” Paltrow says after giving birth. “I felt really disconnected. I felt really down … I felt pessimistic.”

If you are currently feeling like this and can’t seem to shake it you may want to seek some help/guidance. Even talking with a spouse or family friend can help you with this. Don’t feel that it is a bad thing you are experiencing this, this does NOT make you a bad mother, many of us go through this. Did you deal with postpartum depression of any sort? What would you like to say?

Post from: Babylune

 Men wonder why they aren’t happy about the birth of their new son/daughter. This is easy for a man, especially with many of them holding that “macho” gene of how will I care for him/her? Whether they’ll be like their parents? Are they making enough money? If they have a wife that works, will he be able to pull the weight of two. What if she decides to stay home? Life won’t be like it was before, etc, etc.

If you are a man with depression, visit ABC News and fill out their form.

Post from: Babylune

In moon represents woman at her fullest: pregnant. After that, though, comes the blue moon, the postpartum period and the first phase of new motherhood. With this comes the new role of mother (or multiple times a mother) recovery, adjustment and an entirely new life. Babylune started out as a blog about this first phase of new motherhood, as an information resource for the recovery from childbirth.

And, it has become a lot more. While I still seek to fulfill my mission, this blog is just as much about the woman who writes it as it is about reproductive health. After all, motherhood is about more than just giving birth or sharing your life with children.

It’s about you. It’s about who you are, what you choose to do with your life and what you need. I think, those are all important things to write about and discuss. What about you?

moon image souce

Post from: Babylune

According to a new study from the Society for Women’s Health Research, only 10 per cent of women think it is safe. 68% of doctors believe taking medication for depression during pregnancy is safe.

About 50% of women believe it’s safe to take the drugs during the postpartum period. 97% of doctors think it is safe.

Why the huge gap?

Women may believe that feeling depressed during pregnancy and after giving birth is normal and, it is true that hormonal changes do make women more likely to become depressed.

“Women’s bodies undergo changes in hormone levels during key life cycle transitions from puberty to menopause,” Sherry Marts, Ph.D., vice president of scientific affairs for the Society for Women’s Health Research. “Most women navigate these transitions with minimal mood disturbances, but some women experience mood disorders such as depression or bipolar disorder. We need more research to understand the underlying mechanisms in the brain where mood disorders are triggered by hormone changes. Women need to be aware of this issue and talk to their health care providers about their individual risk factors, warning signs and treatment options if needed.”

The good news is that is doesn’t have to be and depression should not remain untreated.

“Many pregnant and postpartum women falsely think that depressive symptoms, and even clinical depression, are part of the normal experiences of being pregnant and delivering a baby,” said Dr. Kimberly Yonkers, an associate professor of psychiatry and obstetrics and gynecology at the Yale University School of Medicine. “Moreover, they often assume that these symptoms will spontaneously go away when that is not always the case. There are a range of treatments available to women and we need to get the message out and encourage depressed women to access care for their emotional symptoms.

There are a number of initiatives underway ranging from politically mandated patient education to giving doctors guidelines about how to talk to new mothers about depression.

One thing is certain, if we don’t work together to close this gap, women suffering from depression and their children are going to continue to suffer and that, is a terrible fact.

Post from: Babylune

Obviously, hand-preference, child behavior and other factors influence how new mother’s hold their babies, but this observation is an important one. We’ve already seen research that shows many doctors just don’t ask their patients who are new mothers about stress and other emotional factors. Asking them to notice how a woman holds her child may just prompt time-starved medical professionals to delve a little deeper into their patients’ well-being.

Results of the study appear in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

Post from: Babylune

When I wrote the Top Five Ways to Prevent Postpartum Depression, the comments section became a platform for discussing the commercial interests in producing vitamin supplements as well as the pharmaceutical industry’s desire to keep interest in the supplements down. The conversation left me uncertain of many complex issues. Still, I cannot figure out why people can raise money to produce supplements, but they can’t raise money to create a charity or a foundation to study Postpartum Depression and educate families about it.

Post from: Babylune

Women are strong people who are equal to men, but new mothers have often been injured by giving birth and they need support. Soldiers don’t leave wounded comrades on the battlefield. Don’t leave your wife to face this “woman’s problem” alone.

Post from: Babylune

According to a study conducted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the majority of doctors in the US state of North Carolina do not specifically look to identify signs of postpartum depression in new mothers.

228 physicians responded to the survey. All of them said they had seen women for postpartum check ups in the previous three months. 79 percent of them said they were unlikely to formally screen patients for depression even though 13 per cent of new mothers are thought to suffer from PPD.The usual symptoms of PPD are extreme fatigue, loss of pleasure in daily life, sleeplessness, sadness, tearfulness, anxiety, hopelessness, feelings of worthlessness and guilt, irritability, appetite change and poor concentration.
“We believe that it is very important that physicians work some type of depression screening into postpartum visits,” said Betsy Sleath, lead author of the study and a professor in UNC’s School of Pharmacy.

“And perhaps even more important, women shouldn’t be afraid or embarrassed to raise this issue with their doctor. We’re expected by society to be happy when we have a child so sometimes it’s hard to talk about the fact that women feel sad, or that it’s hard being a new mother,” said Professor Sleath.

“Depression during the perinatal period can have devastating consequences, not only for the women experiencing it but also for the women’s children and family,” said Dr. Bradley Gaynes, a psychiatrist who worked on the study.

Dr. Gaynes said that checking for PPD doesn’t require a formal screening tool. Instead, doctors should just ask the following questions:
* Has your interest in your usual activities changed?
* Do you feel depressed or hopeless?

While the study looked only at doctors in North Carolina, the results would probably be repeated in examining rooms elsewhere. I think the study is another sign that both women, their partners and community resource people need to be firm about demanding attention from doctors for PPD symptoms.

The study was published today in the North Carolina Medical Journal.

Have you ever been asked the two defining questions at a post natal appointment?

Post from: Babylune

Nope.

The hard part is convincing her that she really does have time to do something about it.

Post from: Babylune

Except, having written this blog for the last 14 months and having read so many articles written about PPD in that time, I have learned how to recognise the signs off PPD both in myself and others.  

Stress can be a motivating factor, but when new mom stress reveals itself in resentfulness, through the meanest of words toward children, spouses, and other family members, when it is coupled with a sense of betrayal and isolation and outward signs of emotional and physical exhaustion, then there is more to it than just stress.

I have been up most of the night. I haven’t been up just because the baby woke up screaming with teething pain, but with the worry that someone I love has PPD. Really, I have no idea what to do about it. Normally, I would ask nosy questions about the use of pre-natal vitamins while nursing and sleep. I would offer to babysit while the mother got the three hour solution or I would take the older children out to play so, at the very least, the poor woman could take a nap with the baby.

The situation is one where neither I, nor anyone else, would be trusted to supervise the children even in the back yard. At the same time, I’m not worried that the children could come to any harm as a result of the possible PPD. My greater worry is that saying something to the mother would set off a chain reaction of a million arguments and observations made in the past and harm our relationship forever.

On the Postpartum Education for Parents site, I found an article about how friends, partners and other family members can help someone they think has PPD. Recommending a doctor’s visit and a support group were on the list of things you can do, but there were two pieces of advice that I am taking to heart:

• Don’t take criticism personally.

And this quote:

• You are justified in being frustrated with her attitude and actions, but be sure to direct your anger at the situation and her illness, not at her.  She is doing the best she can in her current condition.

I feel a lot more prepared to have an honest and open conversation now. 

Post from: Babylune