June 15, 2009
PSI 23rd Annual Conference August 4-7, 2009
Please come join us at the 23rd Annual PSI Conference!
Dates:
August 4 - August 7, 2009
August 4 & 5: PSI Pre-conference trainings
August 6 & 7: Conference
Location:
The California Endowment Conference Center
1000 North Alameda Street
The PSI 2009 Conference is Co-Sponsored by
the LA County Perinatal Mental Health Task Force
Hotel Accommodations:
Millennium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles
506 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Click Here for Online Registration
Click Here for PDF of Conference Brochure
May 3, 2009
Maternal depression is associated with significant sleep disturbance in infants
Results indicate that infants born to mothers with depression had significant sleep disturbances compared to low-risk infants; the high-risk group had an hour longer nocturnal sleep latency, shorter sleep episodes and lower sleep efficiency than infants who were born to mothers without depression. Although average sleep time in a 24 hours did not differ by risk group at eight two or four weeks, nocturnal total sleep time was 97 minutes longer in the low-risk group at both recording periods. High-risk infants also had significantly more daytime sleep episodes of a shorter average duration.
For more information read Physorg
April 7, 2009
Slouching Toward Fatherhood
I fell into a well of depression so deep I wasn’t even aware of it. It was only years later, after I spoke to a psychotherapist, that I learned I was experiencing male postpartum depression. It seems ridiculous on its face: men don’t do the hard work of carrying a pregnancy for nine months. We don’t have to bear the pains of labor. We never had an umbilical connection to our children. We just have to hang on tight. But giving my emotions a name, and an explanation, helped me feel less alone and better able to cut myself some slack. Before then, even calling it depression felt like an excuse for weak, pathetic behavior.
For more information read Newsweek
April 6, 2009
Babies of anxious moms poor sleepers: Study
Some 29 percent, or more than one in four, of the women studied were found to have significant psychological distress. When the babies were six and 12 months old, every woman reported how often their children had awakened in the night. Researchers found that the percentage of babies who woke at least once a night was higher for those born to anxious or depressed mothers.
March 30, 2009
Mothers of Multiple Births at Increased Odds of Postpartum Depression
Mothers of multiples have 43 percent increased odds of having moderate to severe depressive symptoms nine months after giving birth compared to mothers of single-born children, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Researchers examined the relationship between multiple births and maternal depressive symptoms and found that multiple births increased the odds of maternal depression, and that few mothers with depressive symptoms, regardless of the multiple births status, reported talking to a mental health specialist or a general medical provider.
For more information read Newswise
March 22, 2009
New Texas bill proposes jail time limits for infanticide caused by postpartum psychosis
Representative Jessica Farrar has introduced a new bill to the Texas Legislature which would limit jail time for mothers who commit infanticide while suffering from postpartum psychosis. While enactment of this bill does not replace or affect the appropriate use of the insanity defense for such crimes – a defense which can eliminate jail time while mandating appropriate psychological treatment
For more information read Perinatal Pro
March 13, 2009
Perinatal anxiety - the hidden disorder
You’ve probably heard of postpartum depression - a common problem after pregnancy, suffered by about one in seven new mothers. But did you know there is a much more common form of distress that can also be harmful for pregnant women, parents and newborns? Perinatal anxiety
For more information read News-Medical
March 3, 2009
Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act Moves Forward
“Melanie Blocker Stokes Mom’s Opportunity to Access Health, Education, Research, and Support for Postpartum Depression Act” or the “Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act.” The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act, sponsored by Senators Menendez and Representative Rush, will help provide support services to women suffering from postpartum depression and psychosis and will also help educate mothers and their families about these conditions. In addition, it will support research into the causes, diagnoses and treatments for postpartum depression and psychosis.
Diabetes doubles chances of postpartum depression
“Postpartum depression is a very serious illness that affects between 10 and 12 percent of mothers every year. It may have long-term negative impacts on the women it affects, but also on their children and families,” said Katy Backes Kozhimannil of Harvard Medical School in Boston, whose study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Other research has shown that people with diabetes have a higher risk of becoming depressed.
For more information read Reuters
November 3, 2008
Postnatal depression ‘in the genes’
It was believed that the mood disorders affecting up to 75 per cent of new mothers were caused by the women’s circumstances, personality and hormonal changes. But according to a study by Cardiff University, Birmingham University and Trinity College, Dublin, funded by medical charity the Wellcome Trust, the most severe form of postnatal depression - postpartum psychosis - has a genetic cause. The study is now working to isolate the gene, which will enable doctors to identify and treat high-risk women before they fall ill.
For more information read The Observer