Note: Sarah is a composite of stories shared by mothers experiencing postpartum depression. Identifying details have been altered for confidentiality. Sarah just had a baby. But she was not feeling very…well, happy. Yes, she felt overpowering love for her new baby. But she also felt irritable, depressed, nauseous and she was crying alot. Even worse, she started having nightmares. Scary nightmares that she dared not talk to anyone else about. They were, well, just plain

It’s wise to stick to your scheduled check-ups and also judiciously calling your doctor when there is something suspicious going on. But extreme self-doubt isn’t a healthy mental habit. If you need some support in maintaining your emotional balance, don’t be afraid or ashamed to seek out and talk to a therapist.

The Question Many Mothers Ask If you need medication for your mental health, is it safe to take it during pregnancy or breastfeeding? There is no zero-risk option. Not treating depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder carries risks. Taking medication carries risks. The goal is not eliminating risk — it is weighing relative risk with good information. A Personal Reflection When I experienced postpartum depression over two decades ago, I chose not to take medication because I w

This article reviews a 2014 research study examining lavender aromatherapy as a complementary comfort measure during childbirth. It is provided for educational purposes and does not replace individualized clinical guidance. In 2014, Maasumeh Kaviani, Faculty Member at the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Iran, and her team of research scholars conducted a study to see the effects of using lavender aromatherapy during childbirth on pain intensity perception, duratio

I’m dismayed as MindBody practices aren’t brought into the hospitals to support and enhance the experiences of birthing women. Mindbody practices support people on multiple levels. Relaxation practices slow the reactivity of the stress response down. BirthTouch® integrates evidence-informed mind–body practices to support emotional and physical wellbeing during pregnancy and birth. Many life tools for having an emotionally satisfying birth are available at a very low cost or

A Dad’s Postnatal Desperation: Perspectives on Attachment & Resiliency from a Recovering Psychoanalyst Originally posted September 23, 2013. Dr. Good-un-ov’s Guide to Attachment Do you ever wonder why we are all so “attached” to the idea of “attachment?” I do. I’m still quite attached to and fascinated by the human attachment process. During the therapeutic process, it’s fascinating to see how a person’s attachment style plays out in their life, in their relationship pat

Meet these wonderful Individuals who are Sending Positive Vibes out into the world! They Rock the world! I am tons of grateful for my intelligent and loving friends in the birth community who have agreed to help me share my work throughout February, March and April! Simone Magaletta-Snyder (New Jersey). A rockin’ wise birth woman! Mom, doula, childbirth educator, and massage therapist of DoulaSimone will be sharing her well-educated thoughts on the books and talking to

by Brandy Ash Myers, NCC This post shares a personal birth story and reflection. It is offered to foster understanding and connection, not as clinical guidance. Today i s a beautiful guest post by Brandy Ash Myers, a wonderful on-line friend of mine. She experienced postpartum obsessive compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress (childbirth onset) during the birth of her first child. Now, during her second pregnancy, she was moved to write her birth story, as a facet

I’d love to share with you a chapter from new book, BirthTouch: Shiatsu and Acupressure for the Childbearing Year. It’s available on Amazon for purchase So – good question – how much stress in pregnancy is too much? Like many things in life, the question of how stress affects a woman’s pregnancy does not have a simple answer. Because each individual has her own emotional and physical tolerance for stress, exactly how much stress is a causative factor for depression and an

Originally published April 2, 2012. Understanding how labor patterns have changed can help reduce fear, self-blame, and unnecessary anxiety around childbirth. Research was published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Katherine Laughon, MD, and her colleagues, D. Ware Branch, M.D., Julie Beaver, M.S, and Jun Zhang, Ph.D., M.D., (2012) examined differences in childbirth labor patterns over the past fifty years, comparing data from a large study in the 1960’