Postpartum Depression Demystified

Postpartum depression is the most common complication women experience after childbirth — nearly 700,000 new moms suffer from it each year. Yet this serious mood disorder, characterized by sadness, anxiety, feelings of hopelessness and guilt, insomnia, and thoughts of harming the baby or oneself, continues to be widely misunderstood and frequently misdiagnosed. In Postpartum Depression Demystified, renowned PPD authority Joyce Venis and Suzanne McCloskey, both PPD sufferers themselves, turn their combined experience and expertise into an insightful and supportive guide for everyone living with and seeking to understand this condition. Venis and McCloskey cover topics including: the nature of PPD and how it differs from other perinatal mood disorders how to recognize and cope with the symptoms how to obtain an accurate diagnosis key risk factors and how to minimize them medications and therapies getting the support you need from your partner, family, and friends how PPD can affect your relationship with your partner and your baby nurturing yourself through recovery

Postpartum depression affects 10-15 percent of women any time from a month to a year after childbirth. Women with postpartum depression may feel restless, anxious, sad or depressed. They may have feelings of guilt, decreased energy and motivation, and a sense of worthlessness. They may also have sleep difficulties and undergo unexplained weight loss or gain. Some mothers may worry about hurting themselves or their baby. In extremely rare cases - less than 1 percent of new mothers - women may develop something called postpartum psychosis. It usually occurs within the first few weeks after delivery. Symptoms may include refusing to eat, frantic energy, sleep disturbance, paranoia and irrational thoughts. Women with postpartum psychosis usually need to be hospitalised.

One in ten women suffers from an episode of significant depression following the birth of a baby. These depressions can have a profoundly negative effect on the quality of the mother infant relationship and, in turn, on the course of child development itself. The first book in a decade to deal exclusively with the impact of postpartum depression on child development, this groundbreaking volume brings together rigorous and sophisticated research from eighteen of the leading authorities in the field.

Postpartum Depression: Causes and Consequences chronicles a decade and a half of research into this relatively common mood disorder experienced in various forms by between 10-40% of all women following delivery. The author has conducted three major studies all of which are presented in this volume. The most recent study comprises the bulk of the monograph and presents the results with regard to psychological, social and hormonal factors in postpartum depression and the blues. Information regarding the epidemiology, etiology and treatment of postpartum depression is also included. The work described in this volume represents the attempt by the author to begin to address several of the major unresolved questions regarding the prevalence, causes, and consequences of postpartum mood disorders. The important negative implications of poor maternal adjustment for both the new mother and her family as well as the increased awareness of childbearing women who are now demanding answers and information make this book indispensable for all practitioners in psychology, psychiatry and obstetrics-gynecology as well as for the students of these disciplines.

Each year over 400,000 new mothers experience a range of negative emotional reactions-categorized as postpartum depression (PPD). Yet most obstetricians misunderstand and mistreat PPD, prescribing a single-therapy, simplistic approach that frequently falls short of curing the patient.Based on the authors' research and unique, highly successful treatment, Conquering Postpartum Depression outlines a groundbreaking multidisciplinary action plan for beating PPD, including a combination of talk therapy, new-parent counseling, and in many cases the safe use of antidepressant medications even while pregnant or breastfeeding. With the newest information on how genetic factors and pre-existing conditions can contribute to PPD, Conquering Postpartum Depression is the book that new mothers and even doctors reach to for authoritative and reassuring counsel.

"What Am I Thinking contains essential information for a woman and her family who plan on having another baby after a previous experience with postpartum depression. As these women know, planning another pregnancy can be a process filled with profound anxiety, indecision, fears, and self-doubt. What if I get depressed again? What if it's worse this next time? What if something terrible happens? What if I'm making a mistake? Filled with self-help strategies, current treatment recommendations, and practical advice, this book offers women the hope, confidence, and support they need to make this journey in spite of their anxiety. With this resource and available knowledge in hand, they are likely to feel more empowered, enabling them to proceed with confidence."--publisher description.

A leading expert on postpartum depression offers new mothers an insightful, medically sound guide to recovery A full 20 percent of new moms will be affected by PPD--but the good news is that PPD is very responsive to treatment. This guide, written by psychiatrist and internationally acclaimed PPD specialist Ariel Dalfen, leads women out of the maze of depression, offering medical and psychotherapeutic options, practical lifestyle changes, and an impressive array of resources for further support. Complete with a PPD diagnosis questionnaire, a treatment plan checklist, and a table of medications and side effects, this upbeat guide also includes daily affirmations used by Dr. Dalfen's own patients when recovering from PPD. Dr. Ariel Dalfen (Toronto, ON) is a psychiatrist at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto and an acclaimed lecturer and medical researcher in the area of post-partum depression.