Can You Guess the Number One Complication of Childbirth?
It’s perinatal depression.
Yes, it’s true…the number one complication of childbirth is perinatal depression/anxiety (or perinatal mood/anxiety disorder [PMAD] in clinical terms). Those of us in the maternal health field in the state of California are especially aware of May as being designated Maternal Depression Awareness Month. During this time, advocates, specialists, volunteers, and lobbyists are all working to destigmatize and to educate the public about the number one complication of childbirth…perinatal depression.
Perinatal depression affects at least 20% of all childbearing... Read More
Depression has many origins, but trauma is one of the major categories. People suffer from all kinds of traumatic experiences, but here are a few examples of how trauma could have caused you to become depressed.
1. You got bullied in school and you concluded from the experience that you were a social misfit, weak, shameful. You carried that belief into adulthood, practicing it in your mind every day. You gave up on standing up for yourself or expecting to get what you want. You focus on trying to please other people to prove your worth, and very narcissistic people who need an adoring... 
Imagery of pregnancy and motherhood surround us, with expectant mothers holding their bulging bellies and appearing to be filled with love, hope, and anticipation. Other photos of new mothers looking into the face of their child with a certain kind of love and fulfillment associated only with the connection between mother and baby also tell us what we should be expecting in the transition into parenthood. A visibly pregnant woman often becomes the object of projected nostalgia for those whose years with young children have passed. Strangers approach with pressured questioning and statements: “Don’t... 
Many people believe that postpartum depression is caused by the hormone shifts that occur in a woman after she gives birth. In our culture, we 
Depression doesn’t go away for everyone. For most people, depression is temporary and passes naturally or passes once the person has expressed the feelings and resolved the thoughts causing the depression. But there are a small percentage of people who can talk about their issues, express their feelings, take very good care of themselves emotionally, even take medication and have a great life and still be depressed throughout their entire lives. They may have periods of feeling good, periods of feeling less bad, and periods of feeling horrible, but the depression never goes away permanently.
Major... 
A lot of attention has been paid to postpartum depression, due in part to celebrities such as Brooke Shields, Marie Osmond, and Gwyneth Paltrow helping to destigmatize the most common complication of childbirth. As an advocate, therapist, mother, and survivor of postpartum depression, I am happy that medical communities and the public at large are becoming familiar with perinatal mood/anxiety disorders (PMADs, the clinical term). However, there is still much work to be done.
Most women of childbearing age are not aware of the potential to develop depression or anxiety during pregnancy. A myth... 
Science changes, just like everything else in life. First we understand things one way, then we begin to see where we were wrong and we begin to understand life a different way. According to Thomas Kuhn, the historian of science who wrote the influential book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962), a paradigm is a theory, or worldview, that dominates a particular field of science at any given time. Paradigms influence which questions scientists ask and how they interpret their data. So, for example, back in the 1690’s, unexplained illnesses and difficulties were widely believed to... 
I am particularly reflective at this time of year, as my youngest son is turning six years old. It was just that many years ago that I experienced the joy of his birth and then the ensuing terrifying abyss with postpartum depression.
I love my little angel boy more than life itself. And I loved him with all my heart and soul when I lost the serotonin in my brain. Two weeks after my sweet 10 pound son was born, the sleep deprivation caught up with me. My baby was hungry, and I was not producing enough breast-milk for my little cherub…I quickly realized I wasn’t getting enough sleep, my hormones... 
Post-partum depression occurs in nearly 15% percent of all new mothers and over 10% of new fathers. This psychological problem can affect not only the parents, but the children and the critical bond between the infant and the parent. “Less is known about parental 
October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Month. Therefore, it seems a pertinent time to discuss the difficult topic of perinatal loss.
Just what is perinatal loss? Perinatal loss is the death of an infant during pregnancy or soon after. It includes miscarriage, stillbirth, and neonatal death.
Miscarriage is the most common of this form of loss, which is defined as “the spontaneous loss of a fetus before the 20th week of pregnancy.” A few statistics which may be illuminating:
10-20% of all known pregnancies result in miscarriage.
More than 80% of miscarriages happen before... 
This last week, I had the honor and privilege of attending and speaking at Postpartum Support International’s 25th Annual Conference in Seattle, WA. I was moved and inspired by the amazing work gestating and being born in the perinatal world by so many compassionate professionals. (Refresher: “perinatal” refers to the time from conception, through pregnancy, on through the first year after having a baby).
My dear colleague, Gabrielle Kaufman, BC-DMT, NCC, and myself presented a workshop on special needs parenting as relates to the family experiencing perinatal challenges. Both Gabrielle... 
Mandy nuzzled her 3 month old baby happily as she warmed his bottle. It felt so good to breathe in his sweet baby smell and touch his soft delicate skin, his little body curled in a warm embrace into the curve of her neck. Mandy was starting to feel like she had her “sea-legs' as a new mom and was particularly enamored of the fact that her new baby was sleeping through the night. The rough night-time awakenings were beginning to subside as baby Noah matured and slept for longer periods. She was looking forward to meeting a new mom friend in the park with their babies after she gave Noah a bottle.
Suddenly,... 
Depression can be a major health issue for pregnant women, especially if the 
