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

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

The first six weeks after my daughter was born are full of memories that have nothing to do with her.

I was once afraid to get on the scale.

I was once completely unconcerned with my appearance.

I used to cry all the time.

I once had no time to myself.

Luckily. Those days are over. Well, except for the first one, but I’m working on it.

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

Postpartum Depression is more common that previously believed. It’s not just the baby blues or the normal crash after the adrenaline spike of giving birth. Here are the top five ways to prevent postpartum depression.

5. Choose one obsession to be vigilant about. If you’re passionate about breastfeeding on demand do it. If you’re passionate about keeping germs at bay, do that. If you believe that baby wearing is the only way to carry a baby, then do it. Choose one thing to do passionately all the time according to your ideals. Just be flexible about everything else. There is no such thing as a perfect mother and no one expects you to do everything according to a book written by someone with more money and hired help than you will ever have.

4. Monitor yourself. Parenthood can be one long stretch of worry, fear and concern for the rest of your life. If you let it. Try to catch yourself and learn how to turn your emotions around by doing something positive to address your feelings and concerns. At the same, teach yourself how to tell the difference between what you control and what you don’t. It makes room for laughter and love.

3. Don’t do it alone. There’s no such thing as a perfect mother and there’s no such thing as a mother who does it all alone. New mothers need each other to talk about their experiences and end isolation. And, while you love your baby more than anyone else, don’t worry about letting others into that circle of love. Not only are your family members your advocates if you need one, but fathers, grandparents, and siblings are all connected to you and to your children. Be connected.

2. If it interferes with joy, deal with it. Colic, exhaustion, depression, anything else that depletes you and makes your baby unhappy. Dealing with a baby’s issue improves the mother’s health and well being while dealing with the mother’s health issue improves the baby’s well being. It just makes sense. One of the benefits of having a family doctor rather than a pediatrician for the kids and a GP for you, is that they are more attuned to treating everyone, not just the patient. When it comes to new mothers and babies, that attitude is very appropriate.

1. Keep taking your prenatal vitamins with a side order of a fish oil capsule. It’s effortless and acts as a kind of insurance when you aren’t paying close attention to your diet. B vitamins and Omega acids help keep all of our moods balanced.

Post from: Babylune

• New moms with colicky babies are more likely to suffer from postpartum depression than other new moms, a new study shows.
• Researchers from Brown Medical School and the Rhode Island Department of Health analyzed data collected from more than 2,900 new mothers.
• They found that 19 percent reported moderate to severe symptoms of postpartum depression, and 8 percent reported that their babies were difficult to console. Mothers who reported postpartum depression were more than twice as likely to report difficult-to-console babies, and mothers with inconsolable babies were more than two times as likely to report depression.

Babies with colic tend to start crying just as parents want to settle down for the evening and, once they start, it can by a cycle of crying refreshed with mini-naps during which parents cannot rest. But even new babies without colic tend to cry from 7 to 11 pm, which my midwife called The Crying Hours. Colic often goes on to 2 or 3 in the morning. While colic is a usually worst from the ages of 6 weeks to four months, there are cases that go one for six months.

I hate writing about babycare because what works for me, may not work for you. I can justify this post because crying babies cause their mothers anxiety, sleeplessness and now PPD.

Colic is basically stomach pain and there are a few ways to deal with it.

1. If the source of the colic is gas, then gas drops apparently help. I’ve never used them, but other mothers swear by them. I use fennel tea instead of gas drops. I gave the baby a teaspoon before each feeding. Other women swear by circular belly massage with olive oil or other food oils that are non toxic. My kids both found this annoying, but my babies are not your babies and one of your’s might love it while another hates it.

2. To prevent gas from getting trapped, may sure your baby gets tummy time. Spread a blanket on the floor and — when the baby is awake — put them down on their belly. Since most babies are used to being on their backs, they often hate tummy time, so start within the first few days of life. If you’re reading this later, you might have to get down there with them and talk and play. Even if they hate it and complain, complain, complain, put up with it for at least ten minutes twice a day. Not only does it help release gas, but it encourages development of the neck and back muscles.

3. If your baby has colic, you might feel you have to nurse on demand. If this is you and nursing doesn’t stop the crying, stop. Get the baby on a three hour schedule by increasing the amount of time between feeds by fifteen minutes. I am not suggestiong that you starve the baby. Imagine having acid from something you ate, but because eating feels good, you eat more. Feeding on demand can be like that. When you’re a breastfed baby, you eat Christmas dinner at every meal. Imagine eating a feast and topping up the space in your stomach ever half hour.

4. Every minute that a baby cries can feel like half an hour. Especially when you’re tired, a baby’s cry can inspire a heart-pounding anxiety attack.

When you’re feeling frantic because of the crying, put the baby in another room either in a crib or strapped into the car seat on the floor and close the door for five minutes. Get a drink of water, take ten deep breaths, close your eyes and try to see the funny side of this (exhaustion can be a bit like being drunk so it might not be too hard).
Once you’re back on track, you can try to console the poor baby again. Remember, always, it isn’t you. Your baby is not crying because you aren’t loving enough or kind enough. His or her belly hurts. If you could take it away, you would, but you are only human.

Post from: Babylune