Postpartum or peripartum depression (PPD) is also called postnatal or perinatal depression. PPD is a type of clinical depression which can affect women around or after childbirth and symptoms include sadness, fatigue, changes in sleeping and eating patterns, reduced desire for sex, crying episodes, anxiety and irritability.

Weaning

When a mom decides to breastfeed, she will inevitably and eventuallyhave to wean her baby. This time comes sooner for some moms than others. As great as breastfeeding is, both for the baby's physical andemotional health, weaning is anything but. ... read more »

Baby Blues and Postpartum Depression

Suffering from a brief bout of mild depression is common for women who have just given birth. Some women will fight through the depression and come out within a few weeks feeling better than ever before. Other women will suffer from baby blues symptoms that lead to a deeper more clinical-style depression. ... read more »

Mental Health Disorders During Pregnancy

Mental health is important not only during pregnancy but at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. ... read more »

Mood Swings and Emotional Changes During Pregnancy

Pregnancy is quite an amazing thing full of many physical and emotional changes and mood swings due to fluctuating hormones. ... read more »

Is it Safe to Eat Your Placenta?

While most existing data on postpartum placental consumption is anecdotal and not scientific, there are many cultures who view placental ingestion as an essential part of the postpartum period. ... read more »

When to Return to Work After Giving Birth

Many women fight with the idea of when to work after giving birth. They’ve spent the majority of the last 40 weeks thinking about the baby, preparing for baby, and eventually leaving work to give birth and recover from delivery. ... read more »

Supporting Mothers Suffering from Postpartum Depression

There was no diagnosis for postpartum depression (PPD) until the late 1980s, but its symptoms have long impacted new mothers. The condition is often difficult to diagnose, and many women never get the help they need. No one exactly what causes it but hormones are thought to be the main culprit. ... read more »

Postpartum Sex: How Long Should You Wait?

Do you really have to wait six weeks after delivery to resume sex? ... read more »

Overcoming Sleep Deprivation

It's a simple biological fact: babies simply cannot sleep through the night. Sleep deprivation is like spending money from a bank account that has no funds. Eventually, mom and dad will have to pay back the loan or face very real health-related consequences. ... read more »

Giving Mom a Hand After Birth

After birth emotional issues, paired with sleep deprivation, often strike a usually happy couple. Mom needs some alone time, support time, and help after the baby is born, and Dad needs to learn how to read the signs. ... read more »

The Baby Blues or Postpartum Depression?

Differentiate between postpartum blues versus serious depression . ... read more »

Bipolar Disorder: TTC, Pregnancy, and Postpartum Period

If you suffer from bipolar disorder, is important to understand how trying to conceive (TTC), pregnancy and the postpartum period will affect your mental health.  ... read more »

Stress and Anxiety in Pregnancies with Fetal Malformations

Researchers in Brazil recently tested several psychological intervention techniques to reduce stress and anxiety in pregnant women with known fetal malformations. Sixty-five women were included in the study. ... read more »

Newborn and Baby: Month 2

Those first few weeks of motherhood fly by and you were expecting to be happy about your newly arrived bundle of joy, but instead, you feel sad and down. ... read more »

Postpartum Anxiety for New Mothers

Anxiety is more common after giving birth than postpartum depression, and feeling anxious after delivery can lead to negative outcomes for both the mother and child for up to six months following birth. ... read more »

Suicide Risk Among New Mothers and Soon-to-be Mothers

A very recent study published online in the General Hospital Psychiatry journal claims additional services may be needed by women who are pregnant and those who have just delivered a child. ... read more »

Prenatal and Postpartum Depression in Fathers

Everybody has heard about new mothers experiencing postpartum depression after having a baby. But how about dad? Are new fathers also experiencing the blues, too? ... read more »

Postpartum Depression: Fathers Feel It, Too

Most people know that new mothers sometimes get the baby blues but a growing body of evidence says fathers sometimes feel it, too. ... read more »

Baby Blues Symptoms and Postpartum Depression

Suffering from a brief bout of mild depression is common for women who have just given birth. Some women will fight through the depression and come out within a few weeks feeling better than ever before. Other women will suffer from baby blues symptoms that lead to a deeper more clinical-style depression. ... read more »

Married Women Suffer Less Postpartum Depression

According to researchers in Canada, married women are less likely to suffer from postpartum depression and that's not all. Married women are also less likely to be abused by partners or abuse substances themselves. ... read more »

Longer Maternity Leave Reduces Risk of Postpartum Depression

A new study shows that the more time a woman takes off from work after having a baby, the lower her risk for postpartum depression. This research is the first of its kind. ... read more »

Facts About Pregnancy

Pregnancy is a time in life when women feel closer to their spouse and body more than ever before. Here are a few facts about pregnancy for expecting moms. ... read more »

Brain Growth Noted After Child Birth

Many women will be happy to find out the brain actually grows after childbirth, according to a new study published by the American Psychological Association. ... read more »

A Mother’s Depression May Affect Baby

Researchers have found a connection between depression in pregnant women and physical effects on infants. The effects noted include reduced muscle tone, increased stress hormones and neurological / behavioral problems. ... read more »

Unintended Pregnancy Associated with Depression Risk

According to research completed at the University of North Carolina, women who experience unintended pregnancy are at increased risk of depression for at least 12 months postpartum. The results of the study were published in BJOG. ... read more »

35,000 UK Women Suffer Postpartum Depression Alone

In some countries, postpartum depression (PPD) is under-reported and under-recognized. According to a recent report, the United Kingdom is one of those countries. Experts reveal more than 35,000 women suffer from the condition and do so in complete silence. ... read more »

Baby Blues Hit Vanessa Lachey by Surprise

The pregnancy was described as a joyful journey. Lachey remembers feeling overcome with joy at the sight of husband Nick holding baby Camden for the first time, but the joy did not last for long. ... read more »

Role of Socioeconomic Status on Maternal Depression

Quality of life, for pregnant women and new mothers, can be affected by depression. Research also points to negative side effects on newborn growth and development when depression is an issue for new mothers. ... read more »

Maternal Depression Risk Greatest 4 Years After Childbirth

Researchers say the fourth year after delivering a baby are when the risk of maternal depression is highest of all. ... read more »

New-Baby Blues Behind Only-Child Trend?

A new study from Canada indicates the everyday realities of parenthood could be a driving factor behind a trend for only-child families. ... read more »

Labor Fears Linked to Postpartum Depression

An estimated 50 to 80 percent of all women who give birth experience some degree of postpartum depression in the first year after delivery. ... read more »

Older First-Time Moms Not at Higher Risk of Depression

Researchers at Macquarie University have found no connection between maternal age and risk of depression. The study expressly focused on older women. ... read more »

Fetus Gets Psychological Messages from Mom

As every mother knows, the fetus is constantly listening to the mother's heartbeat, the sounds of her digestive system and even the music sheplays outside the womb, but researchers believe the fetus hears morethan just physical sounds. ... read more »

Postpartum Depression is a Serious Threat for New Moms

A large-scale study recently published in JAMA Psychiatry reports as many as one in seven new mothers face postpartum depression. Baby blues is a common condition many women face soon after birth ... read more »

Maternal Omega-3 Deficiency and Depression

DHA deficiency is thought to be associated with maternal depression. While DHA supplements could be used to treat the deficiency, there are reports that EPA is more effective at relieving depressive symptoms. ... read more »

Primary Care Programs Help Women with Postpartum Depression

According to a new research study, patients treated with primary-care programs for 12 months after birth report improvements in postpartum depression, compared to women who do not take part in such care programs. ... read more »

Do SSRIs Affect Infant-Mother Attachment?

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) are prescribed to up to 6% of pregnant women. The medications are prescribed to treat various forms of depression, including postpartum depression. ... read more »

Review of Maternal Mental Health

The percentage of women suffering depression symptoms and other mental health issues during pregnancy and for the first year after giving birth has remained between 10% and 20% for the past 25 years. ... read more »

Postpartum Depression Prevalence in the Female WIC Population

Researchers from the Altarum Institute in Maine recently published a study in the Maternal and Child Health Journal describing the prevalence of postpartum depression symptoms in the female WIC population. ... read more »

Physical and Mental Health 12 Months After Birth

Researchers from the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute in Melbourne recently published a study in the journal Midwifery. The subject of the study was the status of physical and mental health in women 12 months after delivery. ... read more »

Depression During and After Pregnancy

Many women express surprise that pregnancy symptoms aren't what they'd expected. Some express surprise at frequent nosebleeds, fuller hair, trouble sleeping, and other incidents never before experienced or anticipated. ... read more »

Violent Relationships During Pregnancy May Cause Difficulty Parenting

If your relationship was rocky and violent during pregnancy, you are less likely to adopt a good parenting style after the baby is born, according to a new study. ... read more »

Natural Ways to Help New Moms Overcome Postpartum Depression

As many as four out of every 25 new mothers experience postpartum depression following the birth of a baby. A recent study brings the good news of a chemical-free solution to baby blues. ... read more »

Two Years of Breastfeeding May Become Law in United Arab Emirates

A draft of a new mandatory breastfeeding law was passed that is likely to become part of a more comprehensive law aimed at protecting the rights of children in the federation. ... read more »

Antidepressants, Pregnancy, and High Blood Pressure

According to data collected in the Quebec Pregnancy Registry, there may be a link between antidepressant intake during pregnancy and hypertension or high blood pressure. ... read more »

Early Predictor for Postpartum Depression

A new study from Belgium studied positive feelings during pregnancy and the likelihood of postpartum depression. ... read more »

Postpartum Psychiatric Disorder Risk in Women with Past Pregnancy Loss

According to researchers from the Veteran's Administration at the Puget Sound Health Care System, women with a medical history of pregnancy loss are at increased risk for psychiatric conditions after birth. ... read more »

Women With HIV On Medicaid Don’t Get Treatment for Depression

Being HIV positive and low income are two evident risk factors for depression, but it appears the Medicaid system in the United States somehow missed this potential mental health concern. ... read more »

Bipolar Disorder Risk and Postpartum Problems

Postpartum depression or baby blues is considered a common occurrencethat many women suffer from after birth, but that doesn't mean womenshouldn't seek care to treat the condition. ... read more »

Downton Abbey, Depression, and Baby Bonding

There are many lessons we in real life can learn from Lady Mary's fictional struggle with loss, motherhood, grief, and depression. ... read more »

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