How Other Cultures Prevent Postpartum Depression

Kathleen Kendall-Tackett takes a look at how other cultures prevent postpartum depression.

"As citizens of an industrialized nation, we often act as if we have nothing to learn from the Third World. Yet many of these cultures are doing something extraordinarily right—especially in how they care for new mothers. In their classic paper, Stern and Kruckman (1983) present an anthropological critique of the literature. They found that in the cultures they studied, postpartum disorders, including the “baby blues,” were virtually non-existent. In contrast, 50–85 percent of new mothers in industrialized nations experience the “baby blues,” and 15–25 percent (or more) experience postpartum depression."

Read the full article...

Real Housewives of Orange County star speaks out about her battle with Postpartum Depression

Click on the link below to find out what one of the stars from the Real Housewives of Orange County had to say to People Magazine about her battle with Postpartum Depression.

Full Story and Video

Understanding Male Postpartum Depression

Most people know that women can suffer from depression after child birth, but what about dad? A news article from the Daily Beast helps readers understand male postpartum depression. Click on the link below to read the article.

Click here for the article

Mom who dropped baby from parking garage faces mental health hearing

Click on the link below to read the full story. If the mother of the baby is not be able to assist in her own trial she will be sentenced to a mental health facility for treatment until she can assist in her own trial.

http://www.scpr.org/news/2012/01/06/30680/mental-health-hearing-set-friday-oc-woman-who-toss/

Not guilty by mental illness

A mother accused of killing her 7-month-old infant by dropping him off a hospital parking structure is expected to plead not guilty by mental illness. The father of the infant is also saying that she was suffering from Postpartum Depression. Click on the link below to read more about this case.  This article is from the Orange County Register on August 25, 2011

http://www.ocregister.com/news/massip-313870-baby-hermosillo.html

IEPMHC - Pepsi Refresh

The Inland Empire Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative made a short 3 min video in order to be a part of the Pepsi Refresh campaign to “win” a $250,000 grant for our collaborative. We hope to fund a Coordinator position as well be able to fund an advocacy / advertising campaign with these funds.

To vote for our campaign, please visit refresheverything.com/wyliecenter between November 1-30. First time visitors will need to register to sign in. You can vote up to ten times per day.

March of Dimes Training

Becoming a Mom/Comenzando bien® was created from two separate curricula: The Pregnancy Workshop, an English-language curriculum for pregnant women, and Comenzando bien®, a bilingual curriculum for Hispanic women. The new curriculum, Becoming a Mom/ Comenzando bien® is now a general, bilingual curriculum for all pregnant women.

The training will provide overview information about the Becoming  a Mom/Comenzando bien prenatal curriculum and presentation by expert speakers on perinatal topics like the important of prenatal care, nutrition/breastfeeding and why the last weeks of pregnancy count. 

Date: Tuesday November 9, 2010
Time: 8:00am - 4:00pm

First 5 San Bernardino, 330 North D St., 5th Floor
San Bernardino, CA 92415-0442
Children’s Conference Center

Cost: $15 - Includes breakfast, lunch and educational materials.

To register, please download the registration form.
For more information,  please contact Fernanda Crivici at (213) 637-5030 or fcrivici@marchofdimes.com

Expert Speaker: Screening, Identification, & Treatment Options

"Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders: Screening, Identification, & Treatment Options"

November 11, 2010 at 6:00 pm
Access Acupuncture
26323 Jefferson Avenue Murrieta, CA 92562-6971 map

RSVP with lilypad35@hotmail.com or to littlepapoosebirthdoula@yahoo.com

Women are at much higher risk for developing mental health disorders during the postpartum period than at any other time in their lives. Mary Obata, M.A., MFT, will present information about the range of postpartum mood and anxiety disorders, screening tools and warning signs, and options for treatment.

Mary Obata is past president of the San Diego Postpartum Health Alliance. She has a private practice in Central San Diego and specializes in pregnancy and postpartum issues as well as EMDR therapy and other trauma therapies. For for more information about Mary, please visit her website

In the News: PPD Screening

The American Academy of Pediatrics just published a report about encouraging the screening of new mothers and fathers for depression.

"Every year, more than 400 000 infants are born to mothers who are depressed, which makes perinatal depression the most underdiag- nosed obstetric complication in America. Postpartum depression leads to increased costs of medical care, inappropriate medical care, child abuse and neglect, discontinuation of breastfeeding, and family dysfunction and adversely affects early brain development. Pediatric practices, as medical homes, can establish a system to implement postpartum depression screening and to identify and use community resources for the treatment and referral of the depressed mother and support for the mother-child (dyad) relationship. This system would have a positive effect on the health and well-being of the infant and family. State chapters of the American Academy of Pediatrics, working with state Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) and maternal and child health programs, can increase awareness of the need for perinatal depression screening in the obstetric and pedi- atric periodicity of care schedules and ensure payment. Pediatricians must advocate for workforce development for professionals who care for very young children and for promotion of evidence-based interven- tions focused on healthy attachment and parent-child relationships."

The report is available for free to download

At Risk From the Womb

"Researchers are finding indications that obesity, diabetes and mental illness among adults are all related in part to what happened in the womb decades earlier."

"That study, published in 1989, provoked skepticism at first. But now an array of research confirms that the fetal period is a crucial stage of development that affects physiology decades later."

Read more at NY Times

Second Study provides evidence for smaller babies from depressed mothers

Another study supporting that depressed mother are at a higher risk of delivering smaller babies..

"In the United States, the likelihood of experiencing premature birth is even greater for depressed pregnant women living in poverty than for depressed pregnant women from middle- to high-socioeconomic backgrounds," said the lead author of the report, Dr. Nancy Grote, University of Washington (UW)research associate professor of social work. Compounding the situation, she added, "Poor women in America are twice as likely to experience depression, compared to other women in this country."

See Embracing Families first suggested study

View more of this latest study from Science Direct or at Pubmed

Depressed Mothers Deliver Smaller Babies

There are high prevalence of antepartum depression and low birth weight (LBW) in Bangladesh. In high- and low-income countries, prior evidence linking maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms with infant's LBW is conflicting. There is no research on association between maternal mental disorders and LBW in Bangladesh. This study aims to investigate the independent effect of maternal antepartum depressive and anxiety symptoms on LBW of infant among women in a rural district of Bangladesh.

Read More at Biomedcentral.com

IEPMHC at First Five Riverside County

After attending and presenting at the recent First Five Riverside county meeting, IEPMHC was highlighted in the First Five of Riverside County website.

"Studies show that between 10 to 15% of women with children experience postpartum depression. For teenage mothers the rate is about 26% and for women living in poverty the number can be as high as 35%. To help increase awareness and resources for families, the Inland Empire Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative was formed. It recently developed a support group for Riverside County residents at a WIC clinic in Rubidoux. Get the facts, symptoms and other information provided in a recent presentation to the Commission."

Research Study: Perfectionists At Risk for Postpartum Depression

New mothers who think they should be perfect parents might be at risk for postpartum depression, a new study suggests.

The results show that a type of perfectionism in which individuals feel others expect them to be perfect, known as "socially prescribed perfectionism," is associated with postpartum depression for first-time mothers.

Read More at LiveScience.com

Research study: The brain science of PPD

The neurobiological mechanisms to explain postpartum blues and the high risk for the onset of postpartum depression in the first few weeks after delivery are unclear. Estrogen levels drop 100- to 1000-fold during the first 3 to 4 days postpartum, and changes in estrogen levels have an inverse relationship with monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) density. However, MAO-A levels have never been measured in the early postpartum period... Rather than a purely psychosocial model, we propose a neurobiological model of estrogen decline, followed by elevated MAO-A binding,low mood, and subsequently a period of high risk for major depressive episodes. Our model has important implications for preventing postpartum depression and for developing therapeutic strategiesthat target or compensate for elevated MAO-A levels during postpartum blues.

Read More at Archives of General Psychiatry

In the News: Prenatal and Postpartum Depression in Fathers

It is well established that maternal prenatal and postpartum depression is prevalent and has negative personal,family, and child developmental outcomes. Paternal depression during this period may have similar characteristics, but data are based on an emerging and currently inconsistent literature.

Read more at JAMA.com (subscription required)

OR

Read a Summary at Medscape.com

New items added to Professional Library

New documents and links were added to the professional library. The new additions are summarize below.

Documents

• Algorithm for women and depression postpartum - a PDF showing a detailed algorithm for the treatment of women experiencing PPD.
• Chronic PPD in low income mothers - Medscape document discussing the correlation of chronic PPD with low income mothers.
• PPD Manual - BC Health - a manual published by British Columbia health outlining the prevention and care for PPD.

Links

• Depression During Pregnancy: Treatment Recommendations  - The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Psychiatric Association (APA) attempts to help doctors and patients weigh the risks and benefits of various treatment options.
• Reducing Maternal Depression and Its Impact on Young Children  - This policy brief provides an overview of why it is so important to address maternal depression as a central part of the effort to ensure that all young children enter school ready to succeed
• Postpartum Depression in Women Receiving Public Assistance  - This study investigated whether a preventive intervention based on the principles of interpersonal psychotherapy administered to pregnant women would reduce the risk of postpartum major depression

Please email any suggestions to kevinadurr@gmail.com

In the News: When moms feel out of control

(CNN.com) About 10 percent of mothers experience postpartumdepression, severe emotional difficulties following the birth of a child, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Doctors do not know why some women have deep sadness and anxiety in the weeks or months following birth and others do not. They suspect a combination of environmental, genetic and biological factors contribute, but every woman is at risk, said Karen Kleiman, founder and director of the Postpartum Stress Center in Rosemont, Pennsylvania.

View Story at CNN.com

View video testimonials at CNN

In the News - Beyond Postpartum: Treating Depression in Mothers of Older Children

ScienceDaily -- Depression among economically disadvantaged mothers could last well beyond the postpartum period and become a chronic condition, suggests a new study. The study also finds that symptoms could improve with brief treatment.

Click here to read more

California designates May as Perinatal Depression Awareness Month

(SACRAMENTO, CA) -   The Junior Leagues of California's State Public Affairs Committee (SPAC), working with Assembly Member Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara), sponsored Assembly Concurrent Resolution 105 (ACR 105) to designate each May as "Perinatal Depression Awareness Month" in California. The bill received tremendous bi-partisan support and unanimously passed both the Assembly and Senate.
"This legislation addresses a significant women's health and public awareness problem," said Assembly Member Nava. "It comes after 18 months of advocacy work by SPAC and individual Junior Leagues in California. By naming the month of May 'Perinatal Depression Awareness' Month, I hope to facilitate public discussion, increased awareness and access for women and their families to important health care services. The Junior Leagues' support was critical, and I thank the leaders of SPAC for their time and energy in bringing this often misunderstood issue to a wider audience."

Continue reading press release from Junior Leagues