Tagged With "Perinatal Mood Disorders"
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Some 350 Florida Leaders Expected to Attend Think Tank with Dr. Vincent Felitti, Co-Principal Investigator of the ACE Study; Expert on ACEs Science
Leaders from across the Sunshine State will take part in a “Think Tank” in Naples, FL, on Monday, August 6, to help create a more trauma-informed Florida. The estimated 350 attendees will include policy makers and community teams made up of school superintendents, law enforcement officers, judges, hospital administrators, mayors, PTA presidents, child welfare experts, mental health and substance abuse treatment providers, philanthropists, university researchers, state agency heads, and...
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Suffering in Silence Mood Disorders Among Pregnant and Postpartum Women of Color
Pregnancy and childbirth can bring joy and fulfillment to a woman's life. They can also bring anxiety, depression, and stress. If left untreated, postpartum depression and other mood disorders can grow severe and even fatal for both the mother and her child. The American Psychological Association estimates that 1 in 7 women experience postpartum depression, yet the true statistic is unknown, as most women do not recognize the symptoms associated with the condition. 1 According to the World...
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Symptoms of Depression During and After Pregnancy
In order to have the best chance of improving outcomes for the mother and infant, routine screening and treatment for depression should begin early in pregnancy, a time when women have increased contact with the health care system.
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The prevalence and clinical correlates of adverse childhood experiences in a cross-sectional study of primary care patients with cardiometabolic disease or risk factors (BMC)
From the article: To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the incidence and clinical correlates of ACEs in primary care patients who already have cardiometabolic disease or are at elevated risk based on conventional risk factors. Open Access LINK to article Background Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with risk of poor adult health, including cardiometabolic diseases. Little is known about the correlates of ACEs for adults who have already developed...
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Through a Trauma Lens: The Need for Doulas
Trigger warning: trauma, doctors, hospital, birth, sex It is very important to me to approach all of the work that I do from a trauma-informed perspective. Whether it is asking for consent before touching a student in yoga class, offering self-regulation skills to those I work with, or preparing clients for potential triggers*, I do my best to incorporate my on-going learning in the field of trauma into my professional practices. Recently, I began taking trauma classes for professionals...
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TIC: News and Notes for November 2019
ACEs, Adversity's Impact Podcast: Dr. Nadine Burke Harris Vital Signs: Estimated proportion of adult health problems attributable to adverse childhood experiences and implications for prevention - 25 states, 2015-2017 Animal study shows how stress and mother's abuse affects infant brain LGBTQ, traumatized homeless youth more vulnerable to being trafficked: Report How do these pediatricians do ACEs screening?Early adopters tell all When family relationships become toxic: The trauma of...
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Untreated perinatal paternal depression: Effects on offspring (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Note: So many of us mistakingly believe hormone-related changes in pregnant women are the only cause of depression for new parents. Not so, as many fathers and adoptive parents know. This abstract suggests the following: Hence, facilitating access to vigorous and evidence based treatments is a public health opportunity for improving the quality of life of depressed parents and their children. Evidences emerging from this review actually suggest that the traditional gender-focused approach to...
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Untreated Postpartum Depression and Anxiety Costs California Billions, Report Concludes [CA Health Report]
Untreated mood and anxiety disorders associated with pregnancy are costing California billions of dollars in health care spending, social services expenses and productivity losses, according to a new report. The study , conducted by the research firm Mathematica with funding from three foundations including the California Health Care Foundation, estimates the cost of untreated perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) in California at $2.4 billion for all births in 2017. This includes...
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What Happens When Hollywood is Not Trauma Informed? MMH Advocates are Calling for Warning and a Boycott of Charlize Theron's New Movie "Tully" [huffingtonpost.ca]
"'... It's very disappointing the illness would be so grossly misdiagnosed in a major motion picture when we know that only 15 percent of women who experience a postpartum mood disorder get treatment because of the stigma and shame associated with it,' Zoblin told HuffPost Canada. 'I think mothers should be made aware going into the movie that it might be triggering.'" Warning: this post and the linked article contain spoilers for the new movie "Tully". The previews for this movie would lead...
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How It Feels & How We Heal: Parenting with ACEs Chat Quotes (You Tube, Database, PDFs, Links)
Parenting with ACEs is sharing inspiration, information, and expertise from our chat series in 3 formats. Parenting with ACEs: How It Feels & How We Heal Quote Collection (pdf version below as well) Quotes Database (pdf version below as well) Links to Chat Transcripts and before and after-the-chat blog posts. Thanks to everyone who showed up, who shared, and who is doing the important work that is our mission (prevent ACEs, heal trauma, build resilience). We know that work happens...
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Mommy Mentors Help Fight The Stigma Of Postpartum Mood Disorder (npr.org)
Becoming a mother is often portrayed as a magical and glorious life event. But many women don't feel joyful after giving birth. In fact, according to the American Psychological Association , almost 15 percent of moms suffer from a postpartum mood disorder like anxiety or depression, making maternal mental health concerns the most common complication of childbirth in the U.S. And even though these mental illnesses affect millions of women each year, new research shows 20 percent of mothers...
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More Clinicians Need to Address Postpartum Depression and other Postpartum or Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders
“It’s okay to tell me that you’re not okay.” Postpartum depression (PPD) and postpartum or perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) are the most common medical concerns for women after childbirth. Yet few medical and mental health professionals really know how prevalent and serious PPD and PMADs are. There is a great need for better screening to identify women struggling with postpartum disorders. Likewise, more therapists and mental health providers need to know about treatment...
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NICU Moms 70% More Likely to get a Maternal Mental Health Disorder [huffingtonpost.com]
My second daughter, Kira Elle, was in the NICU for 13 days, which most would consider a "short stay". But I can attest that being separated from her at birth severely impacted my mental health in extremely negative ways. Shortly after bringing her home, I was able to identify within myself that I had Postpartum Depression and Rage. Only now, at 7 months postpartum, am I starting to address my trauma from the NICU through the use of Brain Spotting in my therapy sessions. Linked is an article...
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Parental Depression and Its Impact on Child and Family Well-Being [CANTASD]
Parental Depression and Its Impact on Child and Family Well-Being On March 9, 2018, The National Child Abuse and Neglect Technical Assistance and Strategic Dissemination Center ( CANTASD ) hosted a Digital Dialogue with Jessica Dym Bartlett, the Deputy Program Area Director for Early Childhood Development & Child Welfare at Child Trends . The conversation focused on the impact of parental depression on child and family well-being . This [ ARTICLE ] document summarizes the conversation...
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Parenting, Menopause & ACEs After-the-Chat Summary: Carey Sipp
Have you talked with friends, siblings or co-workers about Parenting with ACEs while going through the change? Do you have any fascinating facts to share about how your OBGYN prepared or supported you when thrown by midlife, hormonal shifts and emotional residue from traumatic stress? Me either. And it's a shame. A lot of people parent, go through menopause, and have survived a bunch of ACEs. Conversations and information shouldn't be so hard to find. But they are. T hat's the reason we...
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Petaluma Health Center leads effort to link women to services
Sonoma County was one of six sites selected nationally to participate in a CityMatCH practice collaborative to prevent substance exposed pregnancies. In 2012 Rebecca Munger CNM, PHN the Sonoma County Maternal, Child, Adolescent Health Coordinator lead a broad coalition of reproductive health champions who worked across sectors and settings to develop a trio of strategies to reduce substance exposed pregnancies. The first strategy developed with CDC and WHO technical support was a bundled...
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Preventable trauma in childhood costs north America and Europe US$ 1.3 trillion a year [WHO]
By World Health Organization (photo by WHO/Malin Bring) The findings of a new study on the life-course health consequences and associated annual costs of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) show that preventable trauma in childhood costs north America and the European Region US$ 1.3 trillion a year. The article, published in the Lancet and co-authored by Dinesh Sethi and Jonathon Passmore, Programme Manager, Violence and Injury Prevention, WHO/Europe, looks at the legacy of ACEs and their...
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What Is Postpartum Depression? Recognizing The Signs And Getting Help [npr.org]
By Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, January 28, 2020. Shortly after she gave birth to her son last May, Meghan Reddick, 36, began to struggle with depression. "The second I had a chance where I wasn't holding [my son], I would go to my room and cry," says Reddick, who lives with her son and husband. "And I probably couldn't count how many hours a day I cried." Reddick is among the many women who suffer from depression during pregnancy and after childbirth . "There's this kind of myth that women...
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Why Aren't We Talking About Postpartum Mood Disorders in Immigrant Women [PMag.com]
About six weeks after she gave birth to her first son, Jaya, an immigrant from India to the United States, began to suffer feelings of inadequacy as a mother. She felt sad, helpless, useless to her newborn and husband. She imagined her death and described it to her mother over long-distance calls. "I told her that I felt reckless," she says. "I didn't feel the need to be careful about myself and my safety." Jaya (not her real name) began to cross busy intersections with less caution, hoping...
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Why Treating Postpartum Depression As Trauma is Key to Good Care
Most health professionals understand postpartum depression (PPD) and other mood disorders are a serious mental health concern. Raising awareness of postpartum mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) is so important for two reasons. First, professionals need to be more proactive with evaluation and diagnosis. Women very often hide their struggle with overwhelming anxiety, worry and depression. Just because a new mom arrives for a checkup, nicely dressed and with her makeup on, it’s not safe to...
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CMS Issue Brief: Improving Access to Maternal Health Care in Rural Communities
In an ideal maternal health system, all women would have access to comprehensive, seamless medical care with links to behavioral, economic, and social supports. Additionally, they would be engaged with this system before, during, and after pregnancy. Across the United States, many women are not receiving care in this ideal system, and women in rural communities face unique challenges that make it harder for them to reach this ideal or any care at all in some cases. Because maternal health...
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Confronting depression, anxiety, Navy moms with new babies get help in Norfolk [Navy Times]
Kimberly Barnard-Bracey turned to a small group of women inside a room at Portsmouth Naval Medical Center on a recent weekday afternoon. "So what's the topic this week?" said Barnard-Bracey, a licensed clinical social worker. "What've you guys got going on?" Ashley Beer, holding her 7-month-old son, Travis, launched into a story of how she snapped at her husband recently — she was feeling overwhelmed as tasks like cleaning started to add up. "When my kid was that age, I couldn't even get out...
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Consequences of Military Sexual Trauma for Perinatal Mental Health: How Do We Improve Care for Pregnant Veterans with a History of Sexual Trauma?
Sharing our recent editorial which includes a call for TIC in maternity care: "Nevertheless, there are ways in which VA may be able to augment the maternity care pregnant veterans receive to empower and facilitate more trauma-informed approaches to obstetric care. These include investing in programs to ensure peer support, possibly through use of mobile health technology; facilitating collaboration with maternity care providers through provision of handheld/electronic maternity records...
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Depression in pregnancy increases risk of mental health problems in children [ScienceDaily.com]
Depression in pregnancy increases the risk of behavioural and emotional problems in children, says a new review published in The Lancet Psychiatry. The authors of the review, which focused mainly on low and middle income countries, call for urgent interventions for mothers and children. Depression in pregnancy is thought to affect up to one in five women globally in the late stages of pregnancy and shortly after birth. It is characterised by low mood and feelings of hopelessness, and is...
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Facing Postpartum Depression: The Honesty, Courage and Support It Takes to Seek Help for PPD
“Nobody would believe what an effort it is to do what little I am able” – Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the Yellow Wallpaper, 1892 It is wonderful to see the birth of a child greeted with warm enthusiasm and support. We celebrate the joy of a growing family, and the excitement of a new life. Relatives and friends often provide gifts and extra help. But for some new moms, motherhood brings on many complex emotions besides the happy ones. While we may greet a new baby with happiness and delight –...
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“2020 Mom Project” promotes awareness of perinatal mood disorders [Scopeblog.com]
Having a baby is a huge life alteration – who wouldn’t be at least a bit anxious? The vast majority of women experience mood shifts surrounding pregnancy: Around 80 percent experience “baby blues,” and in up...
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2020 Sex and Perinatal Mental Health Conference
Sex & Perinatal Mental Health Conference on January 13th and 14th, 2020 at The California Endowment. This dynamic training will delve into areas such as postpartum sex, birth trauma, cultural attitudes about sex, gender and sexuality, gender affirming care, personal stories and more. We have an amazing lineup of speakers and wanted to introduce you to a few over the next couple of weeks. Two day training that will explore how sex and sexuality impact and interact with mental health...
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4th Annual Bay Area Maternal Mental Health Conference
By UCSF Continuing Medical Education, December 12, 2019 This is the fourth annual conference here in the Bay Area focusing on maternal mental health and well-being, with speakers from throughout the area covering important topics that will improve the care our patients are receiving. We welcome anyone with a personal or professional interest in maternal mental health. Participants will: Review the state of the current opioid crisis in this country and learn about tools to help identity...
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A Brief Overview of Post-Partum Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (mathewsopenaccess.com)
Note: Parenting with ACEs can present us with extra challenges. Being pregnant, giving birth and breastfeeding can all be difficult for many of us. The stresses all parents experience can be compounded depending on our own emotional and physical well-being and the support we have (emotional, financial, family, community). In addition, we might have to consider thing such as going on, staying on or going off of drugs for some period of time during and following pregnancy. We don't talk a lot...
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A mother seeking help for her mental health loses custody of her children, instead—and it’s so wrong (Motherly)
By Heather Marcoux, Oct 15, 2019, for Motherly We've come a long way when it comes to talking about maternal mental health. These days celebrities speak openly about their experiences with perinatal mood disorders and many regular mothers share their experiences on social media. In 2019 it's okay to say "this is hard and I need help," but what actually happens when we ask for help varies and, in some instances, is downright unacceptable. Recently an Alabama mom to a 2-year-old and a...
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A Wakeup Call About Children's Sleep and What To Do About It [psychologytoday.com]
By Robyn Koslowitz, Psychology Today, November 3, 2019 Only half of children in the United States routinely get enough sleep each night, and this has significant effects on their academic performance and social, and emotional well-being. A comprehensive study analyzed responses from parents or caregivers of 49,050 children, 6 to 17 years old, who were part of the 2016-2017 cohort of the National Survey of Children’s Health. They were queried about how many nights of sleep a randomly selected...
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Anger overlooked as feature of postnatal mood disorders [sciencedaily.com]
Women in the postpartum period should be screened for anger in addition to depression and anxiety, new research from the University of British Columbia suggests. Although anger has been recognized as an element of postpartum mood problems for some women, it has not been well studied and is not included in the widely used Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale screening tool. In a review of existing research, UBC nursing PhD student Christine Ou found anger to be a significant feature in...
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Re: 'They Took My Kid': Rural Docs Help Moms Fight Addiction [medpagetoday.com]
From the article: As anyone who's ever been pregnant knows, you have to go to the doctor a lot. If you are someone with a limited income, maybe limited money for gas or unreliable transportation, the ability to come one place and get money through WIC for your food so you can eat enough and have a healthy pregnancy, to see your behavioral health clinician if you're struggling with postpartum depression or a mood disorder. To see an addiction specialist and a doctor who can prescribe...
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Re: Why Aren't We Talking About Postpartum Mood Disorders in Immigrant Women [PMag.com]
This was a wonderful article - there is always a lot to consider in providing mental health services. Culture definitely makes a difference and especially when layered on all of the expectations we bring to motherhood. I would recommend this for anyone working with moms on peri natal mood issues.
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Re: NICU Moms 70% More Likely to get a Maternal Mental Health Disorder [huffingtonpost.com]
Jessica, thank you for bravely sharing the back story to your interest in maternal mental health! I wonder if you will be the person who helps another mom seek help? Just like from the article, " i t was a friend who had struggled with PPD herself who finally urged her to get help " . Thank you so much! Karen
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Re: NICU Moms 70% More Likely to get a Maternal Mental Health Disorder [huffingtonpost.com]
Thank you for posting this and sharing a little of your story Jessica. Powerful article that we need for health care providers to see!
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Re: May is Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month!
Hi Jessica, Great question! In my past role working with community partners on perinatal mood disorder- we drafted a proclamation (whereas, whereas ... ). Partners who lived in various towns or cities- asked their government officials to formally recognize May as Maternal Mental Health month! More than 5 proclamations were passed! Lots of photo ops and positive press! This brought awareness to politians and community members. Public Health helped with providing meaningful data for the...
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Re: Postpartum Depression: Why The Word ‘Should’ Is So Dangerous [HuffingtonPost.com]
Thanks for sharing-we educate our NICU parents about Postpartum Mood Disorders as some people have described increased anxiety, intrusive and unwanted thoughts instead of or in combination with depressive symptoms. We also refer to the statistic (from Perinatal Support Washington) that 1 in 7 women AND 1 in 10 men experience PPMD. Paternal PPMD is real and needs attention as well.
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Experts Fear Increase in Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders [nytimes.com]
By Pooja Lakshmin, The New York Times, May 27, 2020 After going through a harrowing bout of postpartum depression with her first child, my patient, Emily, had done everything possible to prepare for the postpartum period with her second. She stayed in treatment with me, her perinatal psychiatrist, and together we made the decision for her to continue Zoloft during her pregnancy. With the combination of medication, psychotherapy and a significant amount of planning, she was feeling confident...
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Tools to Mitigate Work Stress and Prevent Burnout: For Health Care Providers during COVID and Beyond
Whether you work in a hospital, a safety net clinic, or in another health care setting, no health care provider working during the COVID-19 pandemic needs to read the flurry of news stories that highlight the extreme stress experienced by people in this line of work – you already know it firsthand. This webinar will introduce health care providers to the Community Resiliency Model ( CRM ), an evidence-based method of managing traumatic stress, preventing burnout and building resiliency. This...
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Lita Simanis
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New ACEs Aware Training Activity - Maternal Mental Health
Maternal Mental Health: Addressing the Impact of ACEs, Toxic Stress and Intergenerational Trauma (TWO DAY TRAINING) WEDNESDAY, MAY 19th & THURSDAY, MAY 20th 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM __________ PLEASE NOTE: This training was created with providers in mind BUT anyone interested in maternal mental health will benefit from the training. *These training activities are available at no cost to participants thanks to a grant through ACEs Aware* SIGN UP TODAY...
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Maternal Health’s Ongoing Mandate for Women of Color: The Call for Wholistic Health Equity
Last month’s CDC declaration that Racism is a public health crisis was long overdue. Yet, vital health and mental health disparities for women of color rage on amid this latest societal call to arms. Too many women of color, their families, and friends lay victim to gaping wounds, residual scars, and profound trauma from egregious maternal health experiences. Current facts speak volumes. The U.S. has the highest rate of maternal mortality among developed nations, rising steadily the past 40...
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Adverse Babyhood Experiences (ABEs): 10 New Categories of Adversity Before a Child's 3rd Birthday (Download Journal Article)
Adverse babyhood experiences (ABEs) are a new construct derived from large bodies of evidence that identify a different group of risk factors from adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). ABEs occur before a child’s 3rd birthday and influence infant as well as maternal morbidity and mortality. ABEs are also risk factors for chronic illnesses and other chronic conditions in the child , symptoms such as postpartum depression and PTSD in parents and offer opportunities for prevention and repair.
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Online Event Free Documentarty about Birth Trauma, PLUS Workshop
El Jardín Birth and Family began the Birth in Pieces project in 2015. A labor of love, this project spanned multiple years and took various twists and turns as we interviewed more and more women. Patterns emerged. We realized that these individual narratives, together, painted a picture of modern birth culture. What's wrong with birth in the USA? It's time to ask mothers. The film is the outcome of their work interviewing mothers and their partners talking about their experiences with birth.
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Self-Care during Pregnancy: Counteracting Negative Impacts of Stress
Upon learning that you are expecting to welcome a new life into this world, you may be hit with a mixture of emotions; sometimes you are unsure how to feel. One emotion every parent is bound to feel is some degree of stress. Stress, the result of a person feeling incapable of coping with a negative situation, affects people differently, and yet no one is immune to the dangers of too much stress. With the growing amount of research on adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, and their...
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Caring for your mental health after giving birth is about more than postpartum depression (upworthy.com)
Nowadays, postpartum depression is so widely known that people who have never birthed a child know many of the warning signs. But when I had my first child, I was unaware that what I was experiencing wasn’t normal. I was young, and living away from family who could’ve picked up on the signs. Doctors were not as vigilant then as they have been in recent years. I was given a postpartum depression screening at my six-week checkup, and no one asked me any follow-up questions. They handed...
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The Dismal State of Maternal Wholistic Health for Women of Color
Change is long overdue for this massive maternal health chasm of wholistic health disparities, transcending physical, behavioral, and psychosocial health, and particularly for women of color (WOC)