A pregnancy loss is a primal, deep loss. And often the parents dealign with this devastating loss have other, young children who were looking forward to having a little brother or little sister. There is help available, in this time of pain, for parents who need to find ways to answer their surviving children’s questions about death and help them cope with their emotions. Pregnancy and infant loss is a family event.

The Matrescence Ritual is a full body and mind experience, drawing on conscious and unconscious emotional material.

Self-care! To supplement your nutrition during pregnancy and in the fourth trimester, making smoothies is a great healthy habit.

It is normal to have feelings of anxiety, stress and depression immediately following the birth are not uncommon—these feelings are often re

In my work as a perinatal psychotherapist, I have had the honor of hearing many women’s oral histories about their childbirth experiences. I often sit with women who have nearly died during childbirth — most commonly due to hemorrhage. **Due to the confidential and deeply personal nature of my work, I never share identifying information about clients. Today, I want to speak about the intersection of maternal mortality and post-traumatic stress after childbirth (PTSD following

The DBT PLEASE skill focuses on caring for the body as a foundation for emotional balance - an especially important practice fore the fourth trimester.

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.

Birth trauma is a risk factor for postpartum depression, Help is available! Betty was feeling very down, anxious and disconnected. She had given birth to her third child just twelve weeks ago! Her new baby was a joy. He was beautiful and perfect. And so much work as well! Betty had never missed sleep so much in her life! He was her second baby, her first son. She thought she should feel very happy. But she just felt empty. There was so much work to do, so much laundry

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

Originally posted March 12, 2014. Expectant mothers are worried about sleep deprivation once their little angel arrives. What most of...

Originally posted January 27, 2014. Any woman who has been pregnant wonders about stretch marks! When I was pregnant myself, I remember the abdominal itchiness associated with my expanding belly! For some relief from itchiness and to prevent stretch marks, I purchased some creams back then. I wondered about the safety ingredients in the creams I was buying and applying to my skin, right above where my son we growing in my womb. I wondered, how much does my skin absorb?

Research review on prenatal learning and fetal brain development, with a perinatal mental health perspective on stress, anxiety, and emotional wellbeing in pregnancy.

Originally posted January 10, 2014. A recent study about finding a link between postpartum depression and fear of childbirth has been getting a lot of press . The press I read reported the study showed a prevalence of .03% of postpartum depression. I felt like the public was being fed bits and pieces of the study, so I read the whole article and wanted to bring out a few key facts. The researchers, led by lead study author Dr. Sari Raisanen, an epidemiologist and visiting

Originally posted November 18, 2013. Negation of Pregnancy or Denial of Pregnancy: Is it real? I was busy over at Science and Sensibility this week with a guest post as a Perinatal Mental Health contributor. I’ve had a some denial of pregnancy or negation of pregnancy cases in my clinical practice, and I wanted to share the research about this under-studied condition. I thought that this condition only occurred in younger teenage women, but more recent research shows that

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

Originally published November 5, 2012. Unless you live under a rock and don’t go out at all, you have to know that Jersey Shore’s Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi is a mom! Her baby boy, Lorenzo, was born this August. Snooki has been showing him off in beautiful pics on her official Twitter and Facebook feed. Snooki became famous as a fightin’ boozin’ bad-girl with her group of pals on the show, Jersey Shore . Millions scrutinized her as she rumbled with her frenemies living in thei

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