Postpartum Depression: More Common Than You Know
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Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Healing Postpartum Depression
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5293553n
Dr. Jennifer Ashton sits down with Dr. Elizabeth Fitelson to discuss post-partum depression. Dr. Fitelson's advice for new mothers includes counseling, nutrition and awareness to signs of depression.
Taken from www.cbsnews.com
follow blog in real time at www.condron.us and www.alphainventions.com
Dr. Jennifer Ashton sits down with Dr. Elizabeth Fitelson to discuss post-partum depression. Dr. Fitelson's advice for new mothers includes counseling, nutrition and awareness to signs of depression.
Taken from www.cbsnews.com
follow blog in real time at www.condron.us and www.alphainventions.com
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Postpartum Depession and Fathers, Study with Colic
Article taken from NY Times Magazine September 19, 2009
Motherlode, Adventures in Parenting
August 14, 2009
Postpartum Depression and Fathers
By Lisa Belkin
My older son had colic. Every day at about four in the afternoon he would start to scream, and he would not calm down until eight or nine. We checked for every medical cause, tried every folk remedy, and nothing worked. If you treat colic, our pediatrician quipped, it goes away in about twelve weeks. If you don’t, it takes about three months. In other words, there’s very little you can do.
I was already weepy with what I now realize was mild post-partum depression back then, and this was not the news I wanted to hear. The whole nerve-fraying, battle-scarring experience has left me more attuned than average to news about either colic or post-partum depression, though, and earlier this summer an article in the journal Pediatrics wrapped the two topics into one study. Researchers at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, surveyed 4,426 expectant couples when the mothers were 20 weeks pregnant, and found that 12 percent of fathers and 11 percent of mothers showed symptoms of depression at that point.
Then, when the babies were two months of age, the researchers tallied parental reports of “excessive crying.” Twice as many of the depressed fathers (4.1 percent) and mothers (4.8 percent) had infants who cried for three or more hours a day (a definition of colic) than the non-depressed parents (2.2 percent of both non-depressed mothers and fathers.)
The “news” here? That Dad’s mental health can affect a newborn. Previous studies have looked almost entirely at Mom’s mental health. The advice? That parents-to-be of either gender might be well served by addressing signs of depression before a baby is born.
“It is likely that a substantial part of the fathers who were depressed during pregnancy were depressed after childbirth as well. In this respect, one could imagine that fathers with chronic depressive symptoms are less sensitive to their children, make less effort to comfort their children, and could also react with irritability or aggression toward their children,” the authors conclude. “On the other hand, it is plausible that excessive infant crying will put fathers with depressive symptoms during pregnancy at a higher risk to remain or become more depressed after childbirth because of the higher demands of caring for a child who cannot be comforted.”
This comes on the heels of a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in May confirming that men, too, appear to get post-partum depression. The symptoms may differ, with women becoming sad and withdrawn and men becoming irritable, but it can be classified as post-partum depression nonetheless.
The study, by researchers at the Center for Pediatric Research at the Eastern Virginia Medical School, reviewed data on 5,000 couples when their children were nine-months-old. One in ten fathers met the criteria for “moderate to severe postpartum depression,” which is well above the three to five percent of men in the general population who meet those criteria. (In contrast, 14 percent of new mothers have post-partum depression compared with 7 to ten percent of women in the general population.)
But while both men and women who are depressed interacted “significantly” less with their children – less reading and singing and story telling – it was only paternal depression that seems to have a measurable effect on a child’s development later on. Children of fathers with postpartum depression had smaller vocabularies at two years than children of non-depressed fathers or those of depressed mothers.
Does it ring true to you that fathers get depressed in the months after a baby arrives? Or that a depressed father has as at least as much of an effect on their baby’s development as a depressed mother? Have you lived with colic in your newborn? Postpartum depression in your spouse? What got you through?
Follow blog in real time at www.condron.us or www.alphainventions.com
Motherlode, Adventures in Parenting
August 14, 2009
Postpartum Depression and Fathers
By Lisa Belkin
My older son had colic. Every day at about four in the afternoon he would start to scream, and he would not calm down until eight or nine. We checked for every medical cause, tried every folk remedy, and nothing worked. If you treat colic, our pediatrician quipped, it goes away in about twelve weeks. If you don’t, it takes about three months. In other words, there’s very little you can do.
I was already weepy with what I now realize was mild post-partum depression back then, and this was not the news I wanted to hear. The whole nerve-fraying, battle-scarring experience has left me more attuned than average to news about either colic or post-partum depression, though, and earlier this summer an article in the journal Pediatrics wrapped the two topics into one study. Researchers at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, surveyed 4,426 expectant couples when the mothers were 20 weeks pregnant, and found that 12 percent of fathers and 11 percent of mothers showed symptoms of depression at that point.
Then, when the babies were two months of age, the researchers tallied parental reports of “excessive crying.” Twice as many of the depressed fathers (4.1 percent) and mothers (4.8 percent) had infants who cried for three or more hours a day (a definition of colic) than the non-depressed parents (2.2 percent of both non-depressed mothers and fathers.)
The “news” here? That Dad’s mental health can affect a newborn. Previous studies have looked almost entirely at Mom’s mental health. The advice? That parents-to-be of either gender might be well served by addressing signs of depression before a baby is born.
“It is likely that a substantial part of the fathers who were depressed during pregnancy were depressed after childbirth as well. In this respect, one could imagine that fathers with chronic depressive symptoms are less sensitive to their children, make less effort to comfort their children, and could also react with irritability or aggression toward their children,” the authors conclude. “On the other hand, it is plausible that excessive infant crying will put fathers with depressive symptoms during pregnancy at a higher risk to remain or become more depressed after childbirth because of the higher demands of caring for a child who cannot be comforted.”
This comes on the heels of a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in May confirming that men, too, appear to get post-partum depression. The symptoms may differ, with women becoming sad and withdrawn and men becoming irritable, but it can be classified as post-partum depression nonetheless.
The study, by researchers at the Center for Pediatric Research at the Eastern Virginia Medical School, reviewed data on 5,000 couples when their children were nine-months-old. One in ten fathers met the criteria for “moderate to severe postpartum depression,” which is well above the three to five percent of men in the general population who meet those criteria. (In contrast, 14 percent of new mothers have post-partum depression compared with 7 to ten percent of women in the general population.)
But while both men and women who are depressed interacted “significantly” less with their children – less reading and singing and story telling – it was only paternal depression that seems to have a measurable effect on a child’s development later on. Children of fathers with postpartum depression had smaller vocabularies at two years than children of non-depressed fathers or those of depressed mothers.
Does it ring true to you that fathers get depressed in the months after a baby arrives? Or that a depressed father has as at least as much of an effect on their baby’s development as a depressed mother? Have you lived with colic in your newborn? Postpartum depression in your spouse? What got you through?
Follow blog in real time at www.condron.us or www.alphainventions.com
Friday, September 18, 2009
Coping with Postpartum Depression-For Dad
Article taken from http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/32403497/ns/today-today_relationships/
Coping with postpartum depression — for dads
It’s not just for moms: Life changes for new fathers can trigger depression
By Ian Kerner, Ph.D.
Sex therapist and relationship counselor
TODAYShow.com contributor
updated 12:23 p.m. ET, Thurs., Aug 13, 2009
Ian Kerner, Ph.D
For new dads, is there a male equivalent of PPD (aka postpartum depression)? There isn’t much research into the subject, but in talking to other counselors and therapists, I would estimate that rates of paternal depression range up to about 25 percent when there isn’t concurrent PPD in the female partner and as high as 50 percent among men whose partners are also experiencing postpartum depression. Rates are even higher in dads who work from home or stay at home, so it looks like there are a lot of sad SAHDs (Stay At Home Dads) out there. While men might not experience the hormonal changes that give rise to PPD, they do experience substantial life changes that can trigger depression.
Dealing with the baby bluesThis is one of those issues I dealt with personally. After the birth of my first son, it didn’t take long for me to feel sleepless, sexless, stressed out and burnt out. And as much as I loved being a father, I also felt worn down by the routine and disconnected from Lisa. I often wondered why I couldn’t be like all the other new fathers in the playground who beamed with happy smiles.
My way of dealing with the baby blues was via alcohol. Not to say there’s anything necessarily wrong with that glass of wine or a cocktail, but when alcohol (or any substance, for that matter) becomes the main way of dealing with the natural disorder of parenthood, then it’s potentially a problem. As an only child, I grew up in a quiet home. Nothing in my past had ever prepared me for the “wall of sound” that I’d encounter coming home to a baby. Walking through the door, my life went from calm to cacophony in an instant.
Sure, nothing beats getting greeted at the door with those jubilant little shouts of “Daddy!”, but after the birth of my second son, Beckett, it didn’t take long for the wall of sound to wear me down. I’d never been a drinker, and in fact I’d always made a point of not imbibing in light of a family history replete with alcohol problems. But I soon found myself savoring the difference between a smoky scotch from the Islay region versus a smoother single malt from the Highlands. I knew things were getting bad when the holiday time came and everyone bought me ... well, take a guess.
Today I know I am not alone. Since dealing with this issue, I’ve become much more attuned to the scores of new parents who find themselves extending the boundaries of cocktail hour and self-medicating their way through parenthood: from guys knocking back a six-pack a night to “Deadwood”-style bourbon drinkers to mommies who like to lunch (and then some) over a bottle of white wine.
So, where am I today? Dealing. I’ve chilled out on the drinking. Not completely, but more than partially. I’ve also started exercising before coming home whenever I can, which is really the dose of self-medication I need: iPod-enhanced, sweaty-palm-inducing, feel-good time on the treadmill. On a good day (which is most days), the wall of sound doesn’t sound nearly so bad.
Diagnosing dad’s depression:All new parents deal with the baby blues, but postpartum depression isn’t just something moms need to worry about. Is dad seriously depressed?
Does depression run in his family?
Has his libido gone down?
Is he having problems sleeping, even though he’s exhausted?
Is he avoiding going out with the baby and generally isolating himself?
Do you feel like he’s trying to put on a “happy front”?
Is he drinking more than usual or self-medicating in other ways?
Not only is it important to support the dad who may be experiencing PPD, it’s also important to think about how to get him professional help — he may just have a case of the baby blues, or it could be something more serious.
Ian Kerner is a sex therapist, relationship counselor and New York Times best-selling author of numerous books, including "She Comes First" and "Love in the Time of Colic." He was born and raised in New York City, where he lives with his wife and two sons. He can be reached at http://www.iankerner.com/.
follow blog in real time at http://www.condron.us/ and www.alphainventions.com
Coping with postpartum depression — for dads
It’s not just for moms: Life changes for new fathers can trigger depression
By Ian Kerner, Ph.D.
Sex therapist and relationship counselor
TODAYShow.com contributor
updated 12:23 p.m. ET, Thurs., Aug 13, 2009
Ian Kerner, Ph.D
For new dads, is there a male equivalent of PPD (aka postpartum depression)? There isn’t much research into the subject, but in talking to other counselors and therapists, I would estimate that rates of paternal depression range up to about 25 percent when there isn’t concurrent PPD in the female partner and as high as 50 percent among men whose partners are also experiencing postpartum depression. Rates are even higher in dads who work from home or stay at home, so it looks like there are a lot of sad SAHDs (Stay At Home Dads) out there. While men might not experience the hormonal changes that give rise to PPD, they do experience substantial life changes that can trigger depression.
Dealing with the baby bluesThis is one of those issues I dealt with personally. After the birth of my first son, it didn’t take long for me to feel sleepless, sexless, stressed out and burnt out. And as much as I loved being a father, I also felt worn down by the routine and disconnected from Lisa. I often wondered why I couldn’t be like all the other new fathers in the playground who beamed with happy smiles.
My way of dealing with the baby blues was via alcohol. Not to say there’s anything necessarily wrong with that glass of wine or a cocktail, but when alcohol (or any substance, for that matter) becomes the main way of dealing with the natural disorder of parenthood, then it’s potentially a problem. As an only child, I grew up in a quiet home. Nothing in my past had ever prepared me for the “wall of sound” that I’d encounter coming home to a baby. Walking through the door, my life went from calm to cacophony in an instant.
Sure, nothing beats getting greeted at the door with those jubilant little shouts of “Daddy!”, but after the birth of my second son, Beckett, it didn’t take long for the wall of sound to wear me down. I’d never been a drinker, and in fact I’d always made a point of not imbibing in light of a family history replete with alcohol problems. But I soon found myself savoring the difference between a smoky scotch from the Islay region versus a smoother single malt from the Highlands. I knew things were getting bad when the holiday time came and everyone bought me ... well, take a guess.
Today I know I am not alone. Since dealing with this issue, I’ve become much more attuned to the scores of new parents who find themselves extending the boundaries of cocktail hour and self-medicating their way through parenthood: from guys knocking back a six-pack a night to “Deadwood”-style bourbon drinkers to mommies who like to lunch (and then some) over a bottle of white wine.
So, where am I today? Dealing. I’ve chilled out on the drinking. Not completely, but more than partially. I’ve also started exercising before coming home whenever I can, which is really the dose of self-medication I need: iPod-enhanced, sweaty-palm-inducing, feel-good time on the treadmill. On a good day (which is most days), the wall of sound doesn’t sound nearly so bad.
Diagnosing dad’s depression:All new parents deal with the baby blues, but postpartum depression isn’t just something moms need to worry about. Is dad seriously depressed?
Does depression run in his family?
Has his libido gone down?
Is he having problems sleeping, even though he’s exhausted?
Is he avoiding going out with the baby and generally isolating himself?
Do you feel like he’s trying to put on a “happy front”?
Is he drinking more than usual or self-medicating in other ways?
Not only is it important to support the dad who may be experiencing PPD, it’s also important to think about how to get him professional help — he may just have a case of the baby blues, or it could be something more serious.
Ian Kerner is a sex therapist, relationship counselor and New York Times best-selling author of numerous books, including "She Comes First" and "Love in the Time of Colic." He was born and raised in New York City, where he lives with his wife and two sons. He can be reached at http://www.iankerner.com/.
follow blog in real time at http://www.condron.us/ and www.alphainventions.com
Friday, September 11, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Postpartum Depression Effects on the Baby
By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News EditorReviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on August 21, 2009
While it is fairly obvious that postpartum depression can hinder a mother’s ability to take care of her newborn, a new study looks at how the disorder can affect infant development.
Israeli researchers studied three infant outcomes — social engagement, fear regulation, and physiological stress reactivity — in a group of 100 mother-infant pairs at nine months postpartum. These three infant outcomes are considered foundations of social-emotional growth and are associated with the infant’s ability to manage physiological stress and regulate negative emotions.
The researchers found that the babies of depressed mothers scored the poorest on all outcome measures after 9 months. The infants showed the lowest levels of social engagement during interactions with their mothers, were unable to self-regulate during situations that introduced novelty, fussed and cried more often, and their physiological stress response showed both higher baseline levels and a more pronounced stress reactivity.
The researchers collected a large community cohort of 971 mothers who reported symptoms of depression and anxiety at 2 days postpartum and again at 6 months. Of these, a cohort of 100 mothers and infants were observed at 9 months and included three groups: Mothers who were depressed across the first nine months and were diagnosed as suffering a Major Depression Disorder at 9 months, mothers who reported high levels of anxiety across the first 9 months and were diagnosed with an Anxiety Disorder at 9 months, and control mothers who reported low anxiety and depressive symptoms across the first 9 months after childbirth.
To remove the influence of other known risk factors such as teenage pregnancy or premature birth, which could independently contribute to maternal depression, the researchers only recruited women who were in stable relationships, were physically healthy, educated, and those who delivered a healthy full-term infant.
Children of anxious mothers showed lower social engagement than children of control mothers but higher than children of depressed mothers. However, their physiological stress response was similar to children of depressed mothers.
The mother’s sensitive behavior played an important role in shaping infant outcomes. Sensitive mothering was related to the infant’s social engagement and protected against the effects of maternal depression on the development of the child’s social skills.
Maternal sensitivity also had a positive impact on the infant’s physiological stress response and reduced the degree of physiological reactivity as measured by cortisol reactivity to stress.
Sensitive mothering is important in an infant’s ability to develop social competence and further study of the effects of maternal depression on child development within the first year of life is warranted.
Feldman and colleagues stated, “By recruiting a large community sample, separating maternal depression from typically-occurring conditions, comparing cases of major depressive disorder to those of postpartum anxiety disorders, and assessing the chronicity of the mother’s mood from birth, the findings may illuminate specific pathways leading from maternal depression to child outcomes across the first year of life.
“Furthermore, the unique associations found between maternal depression and each outcome underscore the need to consider maternal depression in the context of the child’s global rearing environment and in relation to the attainment of specific developmental goals.”
The study is published in the August 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of ChildAdolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP).
Source: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
view blog in real time at www.condron.us and www.alphainventions.com
While it is fairly obvious that postpartum depression can hinder a mother’s ability to take care of her newborn, a new study looks at how the disorder can affect infant development.
Israeli researchers studied three infant outcomes — social engagement, fear regulation, and physiological stress reactivity — in a group of 100 mother-infant pairs at nine months postpartum. These three infant outcomes are considered foundations of social-emotional growth and are associated with the infant’s ability to manage physiological stress and regulate negative emotions.
The researchers found that the babies of depressed mothers scored the poorest on all outcome measures after 9 months. The infants showed the lowest levels of social engagement during interactions with their mothers, were unable to self-regulate during situations that introduced novelty, fussed and cried more often, and their physiological stress response showed both higher baseline levels and a more pronounced stress reactivity.
The researchers collected a large community cohort of 971 mothers who reported symptoms of depression and anxiety at 2 days postpartum and again at 6 months. Of these, a cohort of 100 mothers and infants were observed at 9 months and included three groups: Mothers who were depressed across the first nine months and were diagnosed as suffering a Major Depression Disorder at 9 months, mothers who reported high levels of anxiety across the first 9 months and were diagnosed with an Anxiety Disorder at 9 months, and control mothers who reported low anxiety and depressive symptoms across the first 9 months after childbirth.
To remove the influence of other known risk factors such as teenage pregnancy or premature birth, which could independently contribute to maternal depression, the researchers only recruited women who were in stable relationships, were physically healthy, educated, and those who delivered a healthy full-term infant.
Children of anxious mothers showed lower social engagement than children of control mothers but higher than children of depressed mothers. However, their physiological stress response was similar to children of depressed mothers.
The mother’s sensitive behavior played an important role in shaping infant outcomes. Sensitive mothering was related to the infant’s social engagement and protected against the effects of maternal depression on the development of the child’s social skills.
Maternal sensitivity also had a positive impact on the infant’s physiological stress response and reduced the degree of physiological reactivity as measured by cortisol reactivity to stress.
Sensitive mothering is important in an infant’s ability to develop social competence and further study of the effects of maternal depression on child development within the first year of life is warranted.
Feldman and colleagues stated, “By recruiting a large community sample, separating maternal depression from typically-occurring conditions, comparing cases of major depressive disorder to those of postpartum anxiety disorders, and assessing the chronicity of the mother’s mood from birth, the findings may illuminate specific pathways leading from maternal depression to child outcomes across the first year of life.
“Furthermore, the unique associations found between maternal depression and each outcome underscore the need to consider maternal depression in the context of the child’s global rearing environment and in relation to the attainment of specific developmental goals.”
The study is published in the August 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of ChildAdolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP).
Source: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
view blog in real time at www.condron.us and www.alphainventions.com
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