Postpartum Progresstag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-457542009-07-16T00:00:00-04:00For moms and moms-to-be with postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety/OCD, postpartum PTSD, antepartum depression & postpartum psychosis.TypePadA Mother's Response to Time Magazine: Adrienne Griffentag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d834216c7c53ef0115710ef51c970c2009-07-16T00:00:00-04:002009-07-16T00:00:00-04:00Dear Time Editors: I would like to offer some clarifications to Catherine Elton's article, initially titled "The Melancholy of Motherhood", in the June 20, 2009 issue. 1. Melanie Stokes suffered postpartum psychosis, an illness far more rare and serious than postpartum depression. 2. The author did ot include the perspective of mothers who successfully used medication to treat their illness. 2. Ms. Elton fails to recognize that the education and awareness programs proposed in the MOTHERS Act are aimed not just at new parents but also at caregivers. Like Amy Philo, my OB/GYN's response when I told her I was feeling anxious after childbirth was to immediately suggest medication. I resisted for six months while trying many other techniques -- sleep, exercise, talk therapy, yoga -- until finally accepting medication was justified. New mothers would never deny themselves insulin or thyroid medication if needed; why resist antidepressant medication if it...Katherine Stone/Postpartum ProgressA Mother's Letter to Time Magazine: Kim Rogerstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d834216c7c53ef011571154e9a970c2009-07-15T14:56:47-04:002009-07-15T14:56:47-04:00For every Amy Philo, there are 100 women who support and understand the importance of the MOTHERS Act. I was very disappointed to not even see one of them represented. As a postpartum depression survivor, I know too well how the disease can blindside someone who is not properly educated on the illness. And as far as this quote: "Women who have been healthy all their lives, who haven't suffered lots of anxiety and depressive symptoms, are unlikely to have problems in the postpartum period -- not even close to likely," says Michael O'Hara, a University of Iowa professor of psychology ... I have never suffered from anxiety or depression, I have a Masters Degree, a supportive husband and family, and am financially stable ... like many women who have battled PPD. The idea that it is unlikely for a woman to have PPD if she hasn't had a history...Katherine Stone/Postpartum ProgressMoms Need Sleep to Help Stave Off Depressiontag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d834216c7c53ef011571153d43970c2009-07-15T14:35:41-04:002009-07-15T14:35:41-04:00From Reuters Health: Poor sleep after childbirth appears to be increase the risk of postpartum depression, according to findings published in the journal Sleep ... Dr. Dorheim's group studied 2830 women who delivered at Stavanger University Hospital between October 2005 and September 2006. The women reported that they slept an average of 6.5 hours per night. After adjusting the data for other significant depression risk factors -- including previous sleep problems, being a first-time mother, not exclusively breast-feeding, having a young infant or having a male infant, and stressful life events -- poor sleep was still associated with depression ... "Women with postpartum depression may also benefit from treatment of sleep problems," she added. Amen. One of the best "treatments" for sleep problems is that new moms are allowed to get at least 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night. The way we did that was that I would get...Katherine Stone/Postpartum ProgressA Mother's Response to Time Magazine: Lauren Haletag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d834216c7c53ef0115720398d3970b2009-07-15T00:09:00-04:002009-07-15T00:09:00-04:00Lauren Hale's letter to Time magazine: I am typing this as my dear daughters are asleep on the floor in our living room after a great evening together including S'mores, Orange floats, a movie, and a chocolate bath. It is FOR them that I want this. It is FOR women who have experienced and will sadly experience the same level of ignorance and idiocy I myself was exposed to that I want the MOTHER'S Act to pass. No woman deserves to walk into her obstetrician's office and be denied aid or told everything she's feeling isn't real. No woman deserves what has happened to so many of us. Nor does a woman deserve to experience what Amy [Philo] has. I myself have been a victim of Zoloft. It stopped me in my tracks - flashed thoughts of wanting to murder my children through my head. It hospitalized me. Yet here...Katherine Stone/Postpartum ProgressAn Open Letter to Time Magazine About Postpartum Depressiontag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d834216c7c53ef011571ffd2b6970b2009-07-14T00:27:00-04:002009-07-15T14:26:10-04:00Monday, July 13, 2009 An Open Letter to the Editors of Time: Time has done a great disservice to all mothers who are suffering and will suffer from postpartum depression (PPD). In an article called “The Melancholy of Motherhood” journalist Catherine Elton writes a distorted story that no doubt has already begun to confuse and stigmatize women with PPD. We cannot understand why Time would choose to sensationalize what is a very serious medical issue for hundreds of thousands of women in the United States each year, and to create controversy around the MOTHERS Act, the one and only piece of legislation that would help to systematize support and services that are sorely lacking in so many places throughout our country. There are several points in the article that concern us: 1.The MOTHERS Act is not “dividing psychologists” as Elton opines. The American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association and...Katherine Stone/Postpartum ProgressTime Magazine Skips the Facts About Postpartum Depression tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d834216c7c53ef01157108a79f970c2009-07-13T11:38:22-04:002009-07-13T11:38:22-04:00Time magazine has published an article about the MOTHERS Act and postpartum depression. Written by Catherine Elton and initially entitled "The Melancholy of Motherhood" (now renamed "Should All Mothers Be Screened for Postpartum Depression?"), it is full of inaccuracies and misstatements of fact. Mothers and experts alike are understandably disappointed that such an esteemed publication wouldn't do the proper research. Time completely blew it. The editors should really be ashamed of themselves for allowing an article on a topic that they clearly knew so little about to be published: They state that it is highly unlikely for anyone who hasn't had previous bouts with depression or anxiety to get postpartum depression. Wrong. They state that the MOTHERS Act is diving psychologists. Wrong. They state that PPD screening (which of course is not mandated in the MOTHERS Act, but hey, why not use a red herring?!) will lead to mothers being...Katherine Stone/Postpartum ProgressHappy 5th Anniversary, Postpartum Progress!!tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d834216c7c53ef011571fd1358970b2009-07-13T10:27:56-04:002009-07-13T10:27:56-04:00Happy 5th Anniversary Postpartum Progress readers!!! Five years ago today I started this little blog as a way to reach out to other women and let them know they aren't alone. I had no idea if anyone would even read it. And look at us now!! When I was sick in 2001 I didn't know where to turn. There were no blogs about perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and it was hard to find comprehensive and comforting information anywhere. Today, much has changed thanks to so many courageous women and organizations. We have a long way to go, but I feel confident we will get there. Some day soon every doctor will be fully informed and every mother will know about the resources available to her. Keep up the great work everybody!Katherine Stone/Postpartum ProgressBeck Receives AWHONN's Distinguished Professional Service Awardtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d834216c7c53ef011571ea46aa970b2009-07-09T22:50:53-04:002009-07-10T20:53:19-04:00University of Connecticut Distinguished Professor Cheryl Tatano Beck has received the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) 2009 Distinguished Professional Service Award, the highest honor bestowed by the organization. Beck was recognized for her expertise in perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Congratulations Cheryl!Katherine Stone/Postpartum ProgressMoms Shares List to Help Prevent Postpartum Depression the Second Time Aroundtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d834216c7c53ef011570a62a3c970c2009-07-08T02:58:00-04:002009-07-01T18:00:37-04:00PPD Survivor Amanda Rose, who writes the blog Rebuild from Depression, recently published a list that she crafted before having a second child. Amanda suffered from depression during her first pregnancy, and continued to suffer postpartum, including having some psychotic episodes. It took her approximately two years to fully recover. Amanda says "The List" was an agreement she made with her husband to ensure that her needs were taken care of if they ever had another child, which they didn't plan to but did. I think this is something that might be helpful for anyone considering having another child after an episode of perinatal mood or anxiety disorder, so I got permission from Amanda to reprint it here. The List (also known as "Future Baby Agreement") 1) If I say I need something, the correct response is: "I will figure out how to make that happen." The incorrect responses are...Katherine Stone/Postpartum ProgressDoes Postpartum Depression Only Occur in the Weeks After Baby is Born?tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d834216c7c53ef0115709588b5970c2009-07-07T01:25:00-04:002009-07-07T01:25:00-04:00I received the following email from a reader of Postpartum Progress, and her story was so interesting to me that I wanted to share it with you. I don't doubt some of you have had an experience similar to hers. What so many people don't understand is how little training physicians receive on perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, and how wrong they often are about the information they give their patients. Here's the email: "I just LOVE that you have on your website: [Postpartum depression] can show up any time in the first 12 months after having a baby (or after having a miscarriage, a stillbirth, or an abortion, in fact). Most often, it rears its ugly head sometime between three and four months after the baby is born, but it wouldn't be unusual if it showed up earlier or later. Everything I read from the literature given at the...Katherine Stone/Postpartum ProgressYou Don't NEED Antidepressants, Do You?tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d834216c7c53ef011570975b42970c2009-07-06T10:21:00-04:002009-07-06T10:21:00-04:00I happened upon this great post from a blogger at Scienceblogs.com who wrote about the stigma around taking antidepressant medication, a stigma that doesn't exist for most other medications. "Great Caesar's Ghost!" as my grandmother would exclaim ... I hear the same stuff this blogger hears all the time and it drives me CRAZY!!! ... wait ... where's my antidepressant? ... ;-) As Mark Chu-Carroll explains in part of his piece: "Out of the dozens of people who've heard about my stomach problem, and know about the drugs I take for it, how many have lectured me about how I shouldn't take those nasty drugs? Zero. No one has ever even made a comment about how I shouldn't be taking medications for something that's just uncomfortable. Even knowing that some of the stuff I take for it is addictive, no one, not one single person has ever told me that...Katherine Stone/Postpartum ProgressPostpartum Depression Resource for Spanish-Speaking Women on Postpartum Progress!!tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d834216c7c53ef011570946ad2970c2009-07-05T01:23:00-04:002009-07-05T01:23:00-04:00I am SO excited about this!! -- postpartum depression information en espanol for readers of Postpartum Progress. The following was created by Ana Romero, Margarita Franco and Julie Smithwick-Leone. Julie is the program director of PASOs, an excellent postpartum depression support program for Latina women in South Carolina supported by the South Carolina Public Health Institute. PASOs stands for Perinatal Awareness for Successful Outcomes. So here it is .... La depresión posparto y otros trastornos relacionados: ¿Qué son? ¿Me pueden afectar a mí? tristeza posparto Nos da gusto saber que desea aprender más sobre la depresión postparto. Es una enfermedad común que afecta a las madres y también a sus familias. Los científicos creen que los cambios en los niveles hormonales durante y después del embarazo pueden causar la depresión postparto. Así que NO ES SU CULPA NI TAMPOCO SIGNIFICA QUE USTED NO QUIERA A SU BEBE. Muchas nuevas mamás...Katherine Stone/Postpartum ProgressPoem from a Mom with Postpartum Depression & Anxietytag:typepad.com,2003:post-671546332009-07-02T00:06:00-04:002009-06-29T20:03:52-04:00Arriving on Christmas day with those beautiful pink chubby cheeks and eyes of curiosity…. So tiny, so beautiful, this life filled baby squirming, watching, anticipating. A new life… what mother could ask for more. Ten little fingers, ten little toes, a beautiful healthy baby girl. Home from the hospital it all feels surreal, this baby to treasure. We celebrate she’s here! What happened next, I wish I understood. Oh if I could. Darkness and fear have settled in. It’s all too much where do I begin? Postpartum they call it and promise it won’t last. It’s been twelve weeks. I just want my mind back. Overwhelmed, my mind's always racing, It never ends the organizing, cleaning, pacing. Bursts of energy, thoughts that race, If I could slow down just long enough to concentrate. Tears fall sporadically night and day… Can someone please take this pain away? Doctors prescribe meds and...Katherine Stone/Postpartum ProgressPundits Ponder Whether Palin Had Postpartum Depressiontag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d834216c7c53ef011570a5cb8c970c2009-07-01T17:27:03-04:002009-07-01T18:07:17-04:00I just LOVE it when pundits and politicians talk about postpartum depression. In the latest issue of the magazine Vanity Fair, Todd Purdum writes this in his article on former Vice Presidential candidate Governor Sarah Palin and the 2008 Presidential campaign: "Some top aides worried about her mental state: was it possible that she was experiencing postpartum depression? (Palin's youngest son was less than six months old.)" Purdum doesn't go into why Palin's aides would have thought that. In the paragraph in which he refers to postpartum depression, his only explanation is that Palin was doing what she wanted to, rather than following the campaign's direction, and was "maintaining only the barest level of civil discourse" with certain handlers. Wow. I've never seen either one of these behaviors mentioned as symptoms of postpartum depression. Perhaps we should add a question about that to the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Screening Scale to...Katherine Stone/Postpartum ProgressEditor Seeking First-Person Account of PPD for Booktag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d834216c7c53ef011570946c95970c2009-07-01T06:50:00-04:002009-07-01T06:50:00-04:00Professor Craig LeCroy at the Arizona State University School of Social Work is editing a book on first-person accounts of mental illness. He is looking for a first-person account of postpartum depression. It should be about 6-15 pages in length. If you'd like to submit one, you can reach him at craig.lecroy@asu.edu.Katherine Stone/Postpartum Progress