PostPartum Depression- You Do Not Have to Suffer.

Posted on December 20, 2013 by llpitlwp

Postpartum depression …you do not need to suffer through it!

The holidays can seriously effect our mood. After having a baby around the holidays, a bout of postpartum depression can hit hard and come right out of nowhere during a time when a mom feels that she should be rejoicing over the birth of her baby.

If a new mom has recently suffered a loss in her life, the holidays can add another burden of trying to “carry on” when she just doesn’t feel up to it.

Grief combined with the emotions and adjustment of having a newborn certainly can predispose a new mom to postpartum depression because she may already be somewhat depressed.

The following is a post I wrote a year ago.

If you or anyone you know is at risk for PPD this may be a helpful read.

If you are depressed please seek help…in an emergency go to your nearest emergency room.

If you want to find a therapist call your Ob-Gyne doctor for a referral…do not suffer on your own…you do not have to be in mental and physical pain…there is help available.

January 30, 2012 by lorettelavine

POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION

Postpartum depression is a serious problem that can occur after having a baby…it can occur up to one year after delivery. Sometimes the signs and symptoms can just be an overall sense of anxiety and an inability to enjoy your baby. As a new mom, if you just don’t feel happy you can attribute it to many things especially lack of sleep and the many changes occurring over such a short period of time but you could be suffering from postpartum depression (PPD).

Personally, I did not experience PPD but there were days when I did not feel in control of all the responsibilities of motherhood. It was positively overwhelming. Back in the day…postpartum depression was somewhat overlooked and under treated. A new mom was made to feel like she ”just had to suck it up” and get it together. Fortunately, since them that attitude has changed and most obstetricians screen for PPD at the time of the postpartum check-up.

I thought that I would post a list of symptoms of postpartum depression. If you have more than one or two of these symptoms or are feeling generally depressed for more than two weeks you should check in with your doctor.

The symptoms of postpartum depression are the same as the symptoms of depression that occurs at other times in life. Along with a sad or depressed mood, you may have some of the following symptoms:

Agitation or irritability
Changes in appetite
Feelings of worthlessness or guilt
Feeling withdrawn or unconnected
Lack of pleasure or interest in most or all activities
Loss of concentration
Loss of energy
Problems doing tasks at home or work
Negative feelings toward the baby
Significant anxiety
Thoughts of death or suicide
Trouble sleeping

A mother with postpartum depression may also:

Be unable to care for herself or her baby
Be afraid to be alone with her baby
Have negative feelings toward the baby or even think about harming the baby Although these feelings are scary, they are almost never acted on. Still you should tell your doctor about them right away.
Worry intensely about the baby, or have little interest in the baby

via Postpartum depression – PubMed Health.

Postpartum Depression & Breast Feeding, Infant Sleep, Children & Allergies….

Posted on May 17, 2013 by llpitlwp

Sleep is so important and so many of us crave it…makes me wonder if it doesn’t start right at the beginning of our lives when we are infants. After all it is one of the topics so hotly discussed among parenting experts.

So how do we manage to get our newborns to sleep thus giving ourselves much needed time to sleep?

Nothing can prepare you for the changes in your sleep when you welcome a newborn baby into your family. Experienced parents will issue dire warnings and tell you to sleep while you can during the last few weeks of pregnancy. (And you will think, yeah right, there’s a large boulder resting on my bladder, and sometimes it kicks for good measure.)

6 Tips for Sweet Newborn Sleep | Science of Mom.

If you breast feed do you have less of a chance of developing PPD (Postpartum Depression)? Here is some interesting facts from FFF (Fearless Formula Feeder) that questions this premise.

The same question holds for the connection between breastfeeding and postpartum depression. Some researchers have found a correlation between lack of breastfeeding and higher incidence of depression; however, the majority of these studies don’t factor in why the mother isn’t breastfeeding in the first place. A 2009 study found that women who exhibited pregnancy-related anxiety or prenatal depressive symptoms were roughly two times more likely than women without these mood disorders to plan to formula feed. (12) “Prenatal mood disorders may affect a woman’s plans to breastfeed and may be early risk factors for failure to breastfeed,” the researchers point out. And even if the intention to breastfeed is there, multiple factors inform infant-feeding choices once a woman leaves the hospital.

Feeling like a failure, dealing with pain, frustration, and exhaustion, and having a baby who screams at the sight of her, could make any mother feel overwhelmed, let alone one who’s already on the brink of actual PPD. Maybe for those of us more prone to anxiety or depression, the stress of breastfeeding struggles is just the camel’s dreaded straw.

May 2013 – Fearless Formula Feeder.

Are there allergies in your family, if so, there is a community online for Moms of Allergic Children. I have also included a link to a mom’s story of her son who has asthma.

Moms of kids with allergies have to do double duty to keep their bundles of joy safe, happy, and healthy. In the Moms of Allergic Children community, moms are sharing their concerns and questions about allergies. Here are some quick tips from Dr. Oz for them and others on how to treat — and prevent — some common allergies.

The Upside of Post Partum Depression!

Posted on March 27, 2013 by llpitlwp

Is there an upside to postpartum depression?

I am not so sure, but perhaps it was the case for Susan Benjamin Feingold, a psychologist who, herself, experienced postpartum depression over 20 years ago.

For those experiencing this sometimes devastating disorder it could be an opportunity for a “new beginning” if the mom gets the appropriate help.

Twenty years ago, as we know, this disorder was not taken very seriously and was mostly known as the “baby blues” and was mostly left untreated. It was felt that “baby blues” was hormonal and self limiting. So when the postpartum period was over in about six weeks after delivery the baby blues would go away with it.

We now know, postpartum depression is more complicated and serious than the “baby blues”.

Personally, I like Ms. Feingold’s approach. As a clinical psychologist, “she encourages women to view postpartum depression as they would any other difficult time in life that would provide an opportunity for personal growth and transformation.”

Stigma is still attached to mental conditions and postpartum depression is not immune to this stigmatizing. After all, what is wrong with a mom who cannot find joy and happiness in her newborn?

Hopelessness can follow the delivery of a baby for various reasons and whether or not it is stimulated by a change in hormones does not diminish the seriousness of postpartum depression.

With the proper professional help moms suffering from this disorder can actually have a very good outcome. They can make changes and perhaps as they put the pieces of their life back together they will have learned that they are stronger and better for the experience.

The medical journal JAMA Psychiatry reports that, 1 in 7 women suffers from PPD.

The largest study to date shows that as many as 1 in every 7 women suffers postpartum depression. And the study, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, finds that among women followed for a year after delivery, some 22 percent had been depressed.

The study also recommends that all pregnant women and new mothers be screened for depression.

via Postpartum Depression Affects 1 In 7 Mothers : Shots – Health News : NPR.

According to Feingold, PPD symptoms fall into four areas or clusters.

depression cluster- overall lack of joy, loss of appetite, desire to sleep all the time, feeling of hopelessness
anxiety cluster- insomnia, racing thoughts, worry, tension headaches
panic disorder-panic attacks, which mimic a heart attack
associated obsessive thoughts such as hurting the baby- feeling that something is going to happen to their baby

Feingold also mentions in her new book that women who successfully work through their postpartum depression sometimes then begin to work on other pre-existing symptoms and improve the overall quality of their lives as women and mothers.

It sounds like Feingold’s approach to postpartum depression and its treatment could be just the answer for many of the moms who suffer from this disorder. It could be the “new beginning” leading to the “happy ending”.

Feingold has written a new book, “Happy Endings, New Beginnings: Navigating Postpartum Disorders,” that offers advice, including when to seek medical help. But it also encourages women to view postpartum depression as they would any other difficult times in their lives that would give them an opportunity for personal growth and transformation.

via Book looks at upside of postpartum depression – chicagotribune.com.

Week in Review…

Posted on February 3, 2012 by llpitlwp

SMILE…IT’S FRIDAY!

Links of the week:

Listening to your child:

http://jessicagottlieb.com/2012/02/listening/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed

Tips for a natural hospital birth:

http://blogs.babble.com/being-pregnant/2012/01/30/7-tips-for-having-a-natural-hospital-birth/?utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=babbleeditors&utm_content=post&utm_medium=cpc

Postpartum Depression and Winter Blues:

9 Ways To Beat Back The Winter Blues for Moms With Postpartum Depression.

Postpartum depression …you do not need to suffer through it!

Posted on January 30, 2012 by llpitlwp

POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION

Postpartum depression is a serious problem that can occur after having a baby…it can occur up to one year after delivery. Sometimes the signs and symptoms can just be an overall sense of anxiety and an inability to enjoy your baby. As a new mom if you just don’t feel happy you can attribute it to many things especially lack of sleep and the many changes occurring over such a short period of time but you could be suffering from postpartum depression (PPD).

Personally, I did not experience PPD but there were days when I did not feel in control of all the responsibilities of motherhood. It was positively overwhelming. Back in the day…postpartum depression was somewhat overlooked and under treated. A new mom was made to feel like she “just had to suck it up” and get it together. Fortunately, since them that attitude has changed and most obstetricians screen for PPD at the time of the postpartum check-up.

Agitation or irritability
Changes in appetite
Feelings of worthlessness or guilt
Feeling withdrawn or unconnected
Lack of pleasure or interest in most or all activities
Loss of concentration
Loss of energy
Problems doing tasks at home or work
Negative feelings toward the baby
Significant anxiety
Thoughts of death or suicide
Trouble sleeping

A mother with postpartum depression may also:

Be unable to care for herself or her baby
Be afraid to be alone with her baby
Have negative feelings toward the baby or even think about harming the baby Although these feelings are scary, they are almost never acted on. Still you should tell your doctor about them right away.
Worry intensely about the baby, or have little interest in the baby

via Postpartum depression – PubMed Health.