Social media and postpartum depression
/This blog post by Postpartum Progress shares some important reminders about being careful with social media support during the emotionally vulnerable postpartum period.
Click here for article.
"It Isn't Always Love at First Sight for New Parents"
/One mother describes her initial experience with postpartum depression. Not everyone feels love for their baby from day one. It can take time to experience the bond between parent and child. There is hope with the right kind of treatment.
Click here for article.
Postpartum Anxiety More Common Than Depression
/A new study finds that postpartum anxiety is almost three times as common as postpartum depression. Because the focus is often on depressive symptoms, women with postpartum anxiety may not be getting the right assessment and ultimately treatment that they need.
Read the full article here.
Mothering Through The Darkness
/The Her Stories Project is coming out with a new anthology, Mothering Through The Darkness: Women Open Up About the Postpartum Experience.
Washington Independent gives a review:
. . . 35 writers tell their stories of the joy and devastation after birth. They use their voices even when they are dismissed. The anthology is the coming-of-age motherhood tale not often told. These writers speak about the unspoken: depression, anxiety, regret, and rage.
"USPSTF Changes Tone in Breastfeeding Guideline"
/The U.S. Preventive Task Forces changed guidelines from 'promoting' to 'supporting' breastfeeding is an effort to avoid women feeling pressure to breastfeed against their will. Women can end up feeling ashamed when they choose to stop breastfeeding or use formula.
"The reason the Task Force made this slight word change is to recognize the importance of a mother doing what she feels is best for her and her baby and not wanting to, for example, make mothers feel guilty or bad if they decide not to breastfeed," he said. "It's really a personal choice that needs to be made based on her own personal situation."
Click here for full article from MEDPAGE TODAY.
"Hunting the Genetic Signs of Postpartum Depression With an iPhone App"
/Researchers are using a new iphone app, PPD ACT, to recruit and collect DNA samples from women who have experienced postpartum depression.
See the full NYT article here to learn more about it.
"We Need To Talk More About Depression During Pregnancy"
/HUFFPOST PARENTS --
A somewhat separate, but equally serious type of maternal depression has yet to garner the same type of attention. Depression during pregnancy, often called prenatal or antenatal depression, affects roughly 15 to 25 percent of expectant mothers, upending the neat cultural narrative that pregnancy is a time of excitement and joy for all women. So many mothers-to-be are left to navigate serious depressive symptoms almost entirely on their own.