July 31, 2008
A 35-Year-Old Woman with Postpartum Confusion, Agitation, and Delusions: A Case Study
A 35-year-old woman was admitted to the inpatient psychiatry service of this hospital 5 days after the birth of her first child because of confusion, agitation, and delusions. The patient had been well until approximately 2 years earlier, when insomnia, auditory hallucinations, and disorientation, followed by severe depression and suicidal ideation, developed.
Read more in the New England Journal of Medicine
The influence of culture and support on Hispanic mothers who may be at-risk for PPD
Valera A. Hascup, director of the Transcultural Nursing Institute, studied 24 Hispanic women who were patients at a medical center clinic in Bergen County, New Jersey. Her findings concurred with the literature: the women all had social networks that supported them as new mothers, and these mitigated the risk factors for postpartum depression (PPD). In Hispanic culture, women are closely identified with their ability to give birth and, even more importantly, to care for their children.
July 30, 2008
Dems Unable To End Sen. Coburn’s Hold On 34 Bills, Including Postpartum Depression Measure
Senate Democrats on Monday failed to advance legislation (S 3297) that combined 34 bills that Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has blocked.
Read more in Medical News Today
Possible Cause of Postpartum Depression Pinpointed
According to the study on mice, dysregulation of a particular class of proteins called GABA receptors on the surface of certain neurons in the brain may induce post-delivery mood disorders ranging from “baby blues” to postpartum psychosis.
July 18, 2008
Dying To Be A Good Mom - Eating Disorders In Pregnancy
Women are now experiencing disordered eating and body image issues much later in life — through early adulthood, pregnancy and motherhood, and midlife.
Only about one-third of women in Palestine (West Bank and Gaza) obtain postpartum care
Although the majority of women considered postnatal care necessary (66.1%), only 36.6% of women obtained postnatal care.
Read more at 7th Space Interactive
July 11, 2008
Prenatal Depression in Latinas in the U.S. and Mexico
A high prevalence of depressive symptoms and significant risk factors during pregnancy were found in Latinas in U.S. and Mexico, suggesting increased risk for postpartum major depression.
Read more in Maternal Child Health Journal
Immigrant women and postpartum depression
Utilizing an ethnographic narrative approach, researchers explored in the Canadian context the experiences of three groups of first-generation Punjabi-speaking, Cantonese-speaking, and Mandarin-speaking immigrant women with depression after childbirth.
Read more in Health Care Women International
Acceptance and experience of treatment for postnatal depression in a community mental health setting
The stigma attached to an inability to cope and being a “bad mother” emerged as the main barrier to seeking help earlier. In addition, women were unable to differentiate between “normal” levels of postpartum distress and depressive symptoms that might require intervention.
Read more in Health Care Women International July 2008
No Increase in Mental Disorders Attributable to Pregnancy
Major depressive disorder was significantly more common in postpartum than in nonpregnant women. However, treatment rates for psychiatric disorders were significantly lower among women who were pregnant in the previous year (10.5%) versus those who were not (16.5%).
Research finds that 3/4 of women with regular menstrual cycles (RMC) experience PMS, with 80 percent involving anger.
Four scientists, led by Leslie Born of the Dept of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at the McMaster University, recently noted female-specific mood disorders with irritability as one cardinal symptom. The review was published at the Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience this month in conjunction with a new irritability rating scale they tested.
Read more in Sunstar Com
More and more women are turning to post-childbirth cosmetic surgery
Jodi Brown, who lives in Grand Rapids, Mich., underwent a “mommy makeover,” a package of cosmetic surgery procedures that includes a tummy tuck, breast work and liposuction.
Book Helps Teen Moms Battle Postpartum Depression
Rachel Brignoni is a Fortune 100 Executive who recently authored her first book titled, “Hope…Joy (and a Few Little Thoughts) for Pregnant Teens: Consciously Creating Your Legacy.” The book has been recognized as a Foreword Magazine 2007 Book of the Year Award finalist.
U.S. Medical Associations Fail To Support Women’s Choice In Home Births
An Am Medcial Association resolution stating that “the safest setting for labor, delivery and the immediate postpartum period is in the hospital” has been criticized by Jennifer Block, author of “Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care. ” According to Block, “[p]lanning a home birth with a midwife may sound old-fashioned, … but a solid body of research shows that for healthy women who seek a normal, nonsurgical birth, there are several benefits.”
for more information read Medical News Today
July 10, 2008
Maternity blues as a predictor of DSM-IV depression and anxiety disorders in the first three months postpartum
The estimated prevalence rate of maternity blues among German women was 55.2%. Women with maternity blues should be carefully observed in the first weeks postpartum with the aim of identifying those at risk of developing postpartum depression/anxiety disorders and providing treatment at an early stage of the disorder.
Read Journal of Affective Disorder June 21 2008
July 6, 2008
Using a doula can help reduce negative feelings about one’s childbirth experience
According to the Association of Labor Assistants and Childbirth Educators, a doula can help reduce the negative feelings about one’s childbirth experience, reduce the need for pitocin, forceps or vacuum extractions and cesareans and reduce a mother’s request for pain medications.
Read more at Frederick News Post
Mommy’s New Body
Post pregnancy fitness and weight loss is difficult. Here is how to set goals.
Every Breath You Take: Smoking and the Postpartum
The U.S. Surgeon General’s Office released a report titled, “The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke,” which summarizes evidence from the public health and medical literatures on the adverse effects of exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke by postpartum mothers.
Risky HPV detected in human breast milk
Human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16), which has been linked to cervical cancer, can be detected in human breast milk collected during the early period after a woman delivers her baby, doctors from Finland report.
The Unthinkable Inspires Olympic Dream: Triathlete’s Twin Killed Baby, Herself
The voice inside Becky Lavelle’s head grew louder during the final laps of the U.S. Olympic triathlon trials last month in Iowa. “Dig deeper,” it said.
Read more in the MercuryNews.Com