Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex (D-MER) causes brief, intense waves of dysphoria at milk letdown, often misinterpreted as postpartum depression, and can undermine breastfeeding and maternal well-being. Read this brief article to learn more from MGH Center for Women’s Mental Health.
Sadly we find ourselves with a devastating story and trial around postpartum psychosis. This can be hard and difficult for all of us to hear and read, and especially triggering for some women who have their own personal stories. Postpartum Support International put out their own statement around this and is always a trusted resource with information.
This is an interesting opinion piece by Dr. Hathi, a new mother and a physician. She talks about the importance of seeing the baby and mother treatment as a unit since often once the baby is born the mother has a gap in her own care.
A mother and her newborn’s health are inextricably intertwined. When a mother’s depression goes untreated, infant cognitive development suffers. When her baby falls ill, she produces targeted antibodies in her breast milk to fight infection. States with the worst maternal mortality rates tend also to have the worst infant outcomes.
Click here to read the article printed in The New York Times.
Two Truths, a newsletter about mental health, interviews reproductive psychiatrists to talk about antidepressants during pregnancy and help us have better informed conversations with our own OB/GYNs. It is an excellent piece describing how to think about weighing benefit and risk when it comes to medication.
They can feel very similar but besides the difference in how long postpartum depression lasts versus the baby blues, we also see a much longer list of symptoms for postpartum depression.
Symptoms of baby blues — which last only a few days to a week or two after your baby is born — may include:
Mood swings
Anxiety
Sadness
Irritability
Feeling overwhelmed
Crying
Reduced concentration
Appetite problems
Trouble sleeping
Postpartum depression symptoms may include:
Depressed mood or severe mood swings
Crying too much
Difficulty bonding with your baby
Withdrawing from family and friends
Loss of appetite or eating much more than usual
Inability to sleep or sleeping too much
Overwhelming tiredness or loss of energy
Less interest and pleasure in activities you used to enjoy
Intense irritability and anger
Fear that you're not a good mother
Hopelessness
Feelings of worthlessness, shame, guilt or inadequacy
Reduced ability to think clearly, concentrate or make decisions
Restlessness
Severe anxiety and panic attacks
Thoughts of harming yourself or your baby
Recurring thoughts of death or suicide
May is Maternal Mental Health Month and Mother’s Day is this Sunday. This can be a good time to check in with how you are feeling as a mother and/or the mothers around you. Sunday can bring a mix of feelings for new moms and expectations around how the day “should” feel or “should” be spent. Think about how you want to spend the day and be accepting of whatever that is and communicate with your partner to avoid disappointment and hopefully get what you want from the day.
A new service I am starting to offer for LMSWs is clinical supervision. This is weekly supervision to discuss cases, explore feelings that are coming up, and build confidence overall as a newer clinician. This is a good opportunity for those hoping to have a practice that focuses on perinatal mental health working with moms, dads, and couples.
