Posts from the “Moms Matter” Category
5/30/2012-Does Breastfeeding Make You Feel Terrible?
In recent months, a handful of the women who have come into my office for assessments have had a unique dilemma. Their chief complaint has been “Bad Feelings” while Breastfeeding. Some of the women also experienced depression or anxiety in other areas of life, and some of them only experienced the “Bad Feelings” while nursing … [Read More…]
Marie M., Postpartum Depression
Marie M. spent the first months of her daughter’s life keeping a debilitating secret. From the outside, she appeared to be a confident young wife and mother, going about her busy life with her characteristic energy and organization: Marie was used to setting and meeting ambitious goals. At nineteen years old, Marie had emigrated from … [Read More…]
4/9/2012 – Treating Moms Well!
As you may know, May is Perinatal Mood Disorder Awareness month in the state of Illinois. In honor of this important month and the Mothers we serve, the Postpartum Depression Program at Healthcare Alternative Systems is gearing up for our Fifth Annual Treating Moms Well luncheon, on Friday, May 11th 2012. Every year, our program hosts an exciting fundraiser to generate … [Read More…]
3/2/12-How can Postpartum Depression Therapy help Me?
I have no doubt in my mind that this is the question that every woman asks herself before, during, and after her first trip to our offices. I see the look of apprehension on the face of many women as they sit down across from me for the very first time. Sometimes they even come right out … [Read More…]
3/1/12-How Stigma Hurts Us
A quilt including names of women, children, and family members who lost their lives due to postpartum psychosis, made and donated to Postpartum Support International There is only one thing I follow more closely than articles that relate to Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs), and that is the comment section that follows these articles. As I … [Read More…]
1/30/12 – Do Stay-at-Home Moms have a Job?
Blog Home Last week my colleage Marisol and I attended a two day training called Perinatal Mood Disorders: Components of Care. The training was led by four professionals including  Birdie Gunyon Meyer and Pec Indman, whom are both well-established experts in the field, and who are also on the Board of Directors at  Postpartum Support International. During … [Read More…]
1/12/2012 – Study: 30 Percent of Latinas suffer from Perinatal Depression
Blog Home In 2009, Postpartum Support International conducted a study that examined the incidence of Perinatal Mood Disorders among Latina women. The study found that around 32% of pregnant Latinas experience depressive symptoms congruent with PPMD, while 36% of pregnant Mexican females experience PPMD symptoms. This shocking number is nearly double the percentage of the general … [Read More…]
12/14/2011 – PPMD and Relationship Wellness
Blog Home Anyone who has had a Perinatal Mood or Anxiety Disorder knows that the symptoms of these illnesses affect not only the person suffering from them, but also those nearest and dearest to the afflicted (including children, parents, and spouses). Many women who have experienced PPMD say that one of the greatest challenges of … [Read More…]
12/5/2011 – Who Are YOU? (Part Two)
Blog Home If I had a dime for every postpartum woman whose worries, fears, and obsessions center primarily around whether she’s mothering “the right way†I would have enough money to buy a copy of this book for each and every one of them. But it’s certainly not hard to figure our where women’s feelings … [Read More…]
11/21/2011 – Who Are YOU? (Part One)
Blog Home In my work as a program therapist in the Postpartum Depression program at HAS, and also in my former life as a Labor Support and Postpartum Doula, I have often heard mothers (with and without PPMD) say that the first weeks of life with a new baby are very much like having your … [Read More…]
