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Pregnant Pause                        


July 24, 2013                                                                                                     
Issue #28
Because there is no health without Mental Health!

IT'S HARD TO ADMIT YOUR OWN POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION

  

Many of this month's internet testimonials depicted the difficulty in recognizing and admitting your own postpartum depression. 


Crystal Clancy in her guest post on "Anxiety, Intuition, and Distinguishing Between the Two",  advises that:

 

"A normal amount of anxiety is helpful, and can keep us and our children safe. A good sign that you are not listening to your gut, so to speak, is that you KNOW that something isn't quite right. Many people struggle with anxiety, it is more common than people realize. You deserve to enjoy parenting, and anxiety can sap that joy!"

 

To read more of this article, click here.

 

In a blog called Chi-town Mommy Mahem, TJ Falletti, speaking from her personal experience with postpartum depression said: 

 

"From the moment he was delivered, something inside of me changed. It was like my soul was ripped out of my body. I felt empty inside...[but] I began lying to doctors even before I was discharged. Those "stupid" postpartum surveys are in place for a reason and I just lied through them. I lied in the hospital, at my child's first visit, and during follow up phone calls. Finally, at my 6 week checkup I decided to come clean. I wasn't coping at all. I was a mess."

 

To read the full article, click here.

 

Celeste McLean-Cote, author of the blog Running Nekkid, also discussed her difficulty in admitting her own suffering. In a post entitled The Un-Secret Secret of My Postpartum Depression, she admits:

 

"It took a slip up at my therapist's office, and my therapist's gentle but insistent prodding to even admit that I wasn't just sinking into depression again. I was overwhelmed by it. At first, I was adamant that I was managing well. I didn't want to reveal the depths of my depression's hold on my daily life. I didn't, you know, want to seem like a failure. It took many sessions after that for me to relinquish my terribly kept secret. My un-secret secret. I was, after all, not fooling anyone."

 

To read more, follow this link.

DID YOU KNOW?
 
There may be a link between dietary fish intake and anxiety during pregnancy. Researchers at the University of Bristol and the Federal University of Rio de Janiero, Brazil, found that women who ate fish a few times a week were less likely to experience stress and anxiety during pregnancy.

 

To read more, follow this link.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PROMPT AND TIMELY SCREENING AND TREATMENT

 

A new review in, The Obstetrician & Gynecologist (TOG), established that there are risk factors for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, and that all pregnant women should be closely monitored by a multidisciplinary care team for at least three months following delivery to ensure early recognition and prompt treatment. Most importantly, the review stresses the importance of early recognition and treatment of women who develop the condition.

 

To read more, click here.

 

According to a new review conducted for AHRQ's Effective Health Care Program by Duke University, women who are diagnosed and treated promptly for a perinatal mood and anxiety disorder recover faster than those that do not receive treatment. This meta analysis of 40 studies also considered input from experts in child and maternal health.

 

To read more, click here.

 

Can You Prevent Postpartum Depression?

 

This article, written by Kate Kripke, presents tips for preventing and/or reducing symptoms of postpartum depression. Kripke recognizes that each individual's experience with postpartum depression is unique, but that there are a few strategies that can mitigate the experience and reduce the likelihood of suffering from postpartum depression.

 

To learn more, click here. 

LOOKING FOR WAYS TO GET INVOLVED? 

 

1). Follow us on twitter

2). Check out our Facebook page

3). Sign up for our newsletters

4). Stay tuned for announcements about upcoming events like Move4Moms Fun Run 5K in Piedmont Park on November 2nd!

SCREENING & IDENTIFICATION TRAINING FOR PERINATAL MOOD AND ANXIETY DISORDERS

 

Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) are the #1 complication of childbirth in the US, affecting approximately 10-15% of childbearing women. Project Healthy Moms' PMAD Screening and Identification Trainings are aimed at healthcare providers (e.g. physicians, nurses, social workers) who come in contact with childbearing women. Through this program, healthcare providers who are involved in maternal and child health are trained to recognize symptoms of the various PMADs and consequences of untreated PMADs. During the training, providers learn how to screen mothers for PMADs and are also educated about treatment options and referral methods. The goal of the training is to ensure that healthcare providers are able to correctly and routinely identify and refer women who may be suffering from PMADs in their practices.

 

To learn more and schedule a training, please contact Liz Smulian at [email protected] or at 678-904-1968.

RESOURCE LIST

 

Did you know that Mental Health America of Georgia has a resource list for pregnant and postpartum women? It is updated regularly and provides contact information for healthcare providers and outlets for self-care for pregnant and postpartum women.

 

To access the list, visit www.mhageorgia.org, then go to 

Our Programs > Project Healthy Moms > Resource List.

PROJECT HEALTHY MOMS WARMLINE AVAILABLE TO ALL GEORGIA WOMEN

 

The Project Healthy Moms Warmline is available in English and Spanish for ALL Georgia women seeking peer support and resource linkage for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders! Georgia women can phone in to the toll-free Project Healthy Moms Warmline, call the local Georgia number or email to contact a mother who has experienced and overcome perinatal depression/anxiety and who can provide emotional support and suggest appropriate resources. Please leave a message when you call the Warmline, and a support person will respond as soon as possible. It does get better!

 

Toll Free: 1-800-933-9896, ext. 234 (#1 for Spanish) 

Local: 678-904-1966 (#1 for Spanish) 

Email: [email protected] (English)  

[email protected] (Spanish)

 

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!

 

Project Healthy Moms is an important initiative of MHA of Georgia.  Perinatal mood disorders are the most common complication of childbirth.  In the United States, between 10% and 15% of new mothers suffer from these devastating illnesses which, if not properly treated, can have a long-term negative impact on the health of not only the mothers, but their children and families as well.  Our goal is to increase awareness, identification, treatment, and support of perinatal mood disorders in Georgia, while also reducing the stigma associated with them.  To learn more about Project Healthy Moms, click here.

Project Healthy Moms is only one of many programs developed by MHA of Georgia to further our mission of enhancing the mental health of all Georgians through education, outreach, and advocacy. Click here to learn more about MHA of Georgia's other programs.  Your support will help us continue our work educating Georgians about mental illness, striving to eliminate stigma, and advocating on behalf of people with  mental illness in our state.  Click here to support MHA of Georgia.

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