I breastfed like a champ with both of my kids, even nursing my daughter while I was pregnant with my son. It was not seamless, however, because when I initially started breastfeeding my first-born I felt like I had no idea what I was doing and spent a lot of time frantically trying to work through the process. I consulted the library of pregnancy books I had, but none of them were specific to breastfeeding so I don’t think they offered as much information as I actually needed.

This is one of the reasons why I was really impressed by The Essential Guide to Breastfeeding by Marianne Neifert, MD. The main emphasis of the book is the art of breastfeeding, but it also has other topics including dealing with sleep deprivation and  eventually starting solid foods. While most baby books are written with the perspective that moms want to learn about caring for a baby and will maybe breastfeed, this book is written with the perspective that a breastfeeding mom also needs to know about dealing with other aspects of raising a baby. I really wish  I would have had this book when I was a new mom.

Babies Online is giving away a free copy of The Essential Guide to Breastfeeding. Simply leave a comment on this post to be entered to win.

The book also dedicates a full chapter to how dads can assist mom with breastfeeding. After all, nursing a baby can be really hard, so when a dad isn’t on board it can be downright impossible. The book covers just about every aspect a nursing mom might need to know about, whether it’s pumping, nutrition or postpartum depression. Everything is presented in a very readable way, so even though it’s written by a pediatrician it doesn’t read like a medical manual.

I give this book a huge thumbs up.

This is the type of book that should be given to pregnant moms as they prepare to have their babies and start nursing. It’s a book that will sit at the mom’s bedside and will undoubtedly be thumbed through over and over again for reference.

The Essential Guide to Breastfeeding is appropriate for any nursing mom, whether she will stay home with the baby or return to work as soon as possible. Pick up this book if you are pregnant or new to nursing because it will probably answer all of your questions (and the questions you don’t know you have yet).

Celebrities can be quite secretive about certain aspects of their lives, and rightfully so. Ever so often though, one of them opens up about a personal issue that many people can relate to. Such was the case with Lisa Rinna recently when she talked about her struggle with postpartum depression.

According to reports online, Rinna’s new book, Rinnivation: Getting Your Best Life Ever, reveals secrets she has held close to her chest for a long time. Originally the tome was supposed to deal with fitness and healthy diets, but it evolved into so much more.

Fans of the star may be shocked to learn she had thoughts about killing her husband, actor Harry Hamlin and their two daughters Delilah, who is 10, and Amelia, 7. A quote attributed to Rinna states, “I set out to write a diet and fitness book period and that was about it. That isn’t exactly who I am, I’m much more than that. I just started to open up and it became this cathartic event…”

She went on to say “I made Harry hide all the sharp knives and take the gun out of the house because I had visions of killing everybody. Now how horrific is that?…” I must admit that I am surprised that she would reveal as much as she did about this personal struggle. To admit to postpartum depression is one thing, to say that you thought about killing your husband and children is another matter entirely.

Of course I am sure there are skeptics out there who will accuse Rinna of simply courting publicity, or maybe exaggerating the facts. Let’s face it, you can never be too sure with celebrities. I do think that unburdening herself in this way could be of some help to women who may struggle with similar thoughts.

We have all heard horrific stories about what can happen when this condition is left unchecked. Rinna says in the interview that she got help but I guess you will have to read the book to find out how she went about it. I hope that any woman who finds herself in a similar situation has supportive and understanding people around her. I think there might still be people out there who may be inclined to dismiss these feelings as something that will pass eventually.

But postpartum depression is real and in many cases is much more than ‘baby blues’. The debilitating depression of postpartum doesn’t go away after a few days or weeks as it does with ‘baby blues’. Treatment is needed for postpartum.

I certainly wish her the best going forward. Hopefully her book will keep the spotlight on the often debilitating condition that affects so many new moms around the world.

Diabetes and depression. As if we moms don’t have enough to handle, these two disorders seem to join forces and complicate things during and after pregnancy.

Postpartum depression is quite common among first-time moms, affecting about 10 to 12 % of these women. Both gestational diabetes and pre-pregnancy diabetes complicates 9% of pregnancies.

A recent research study published in the Journal of American Medical Association shows that diabetes increases the risk of depression during pregnancy as well as afterwards (postpartum) especially among first-time low-income mothers. The study participants consisted of 11,024 women who delivered between July 1, 2004, and September 30, 2006. These women were also continuously enrolled in Medicaid before and after delivery, thus indicating their socioeconomic status. The participants were monitored for depression and diabetes symptoms 6 months before pregnancy and 1 year after pregnancy.

Results showed that women with diabetes are almost twice more likely to experience depression (and even take antidepressants) during the perinatal period (1 year post-delivery) than women without diabetes.

This is quite understandable really. If I were a first-time mom, trying to make ends meet, and diabetic to boot, I would be depressed, too. I can only imagine the stress and distress they are going through without the financial, emotional, and social support they need.

There’s now an easy way to tell. According to a new study which has been featured in Pediatrics’ September issue, just three key questions among a conventional questionnaire worked as well at identifying whether a new mother was suffering from postpartum depression.

The 3 Key Questions Are:

1. Have I blamed myself unnecessarily when things went wrong.?
2. Have I felt scared or panicky for not very good reason?
3. Have I been anxious or worried for not very good reason?

What is postpartum depression? It’s a common ailment of many new mothers. Symptoms include anxiety, weepiness or sadness, insomnia, excessive guilt, withdrawal from family and friends, inability to find job in usually pleasurable activities, loss of appetite, thoughts of suicide or other scary thoughts, panic attacks. A mother may feel too guilty for having such feelings when everyone expects them to be joyful of having a new baby that she may not seek out help, and therefore go undiagnosed.

The researchers in the study believe that these 3 key questions can save a lot of the time that it takes to diagnose for postpartum depression. These 3 questions turned out to be better than the long questionnaire at screening for sufferers of the ailment.

If you are a new mother and you have answered yes to the three questions above, seek your physician’s help immediately.

Source:

Is postpartum depression a common thing?

One in five American women actually suffers from postpartum depressive symptoms (PDS). This is according to a survey recently published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The survey data was collected from 2004 to 2005 in 17 states. The highest incidence of PD was found in New Mexico (20.4%) and the lowest in Maine (11.7%). Those who are most likely to report having PDS are:

• younger women
• women with low educational attainment
• women who received Medicaid benefits for their delivery

Other possible risk factors associated with PDS are

• low infant birth weight (less than 2.5 kg)
• admission to a neonatal intensive-care unit (NICU)
• smoking during the last 3 months of pregnancy
• physical abuse before or during pregnancy
• experiencing stress (i.e. emotional, financial, partner-related, or traumatic) up to 12 months before the delivery

Most common PDS are feeling down, hopelessness and having little interest of pleasure in doing things.

I definitely had PDS after I had my twins and I didn’t need any doctor or psychiatrist to tell me that I had it. I was just wasn’t my old self.

But it seems that suffering from PDS is quite common – and lasts longer – among mothers of multiples. For me, low birth weight and NICU admission were probably the key factors. Add to it sleep deprivation and the stress of taking care of 2 babies at the same.

But then I also knew when I was finally over it – more than a year after delivery. What helped me to recover was the unwavering support of my husband, family and friends, the chance of getting back to work part time, and jogging.

Anybody out there with a PD/PDS story to share?

Sources:

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 11 April 2008

Postpartum depression common among U.S. women. Reuters, 10 April 2008.

Today I was thinking back to when my daughter was a newborn. She was such a light sleeper that the sounds of the floorboards creaking outside her room woke her up instantly, and consequently I always dreaded heading off to bed at night because I had to walk through that very hallway. The memory that popped into my head today – and that made me chuckle quite a bit – was the vision of me tiptoeing down that hall delicately as though I was a stealth ninja in an obstacle course. Sometimes it would take me five minutes to get down that hallway, and it’s not like it’s a really long hall. I was just so scared that I would wake her up because I knew that waking her up meant less (precious) sleep for me. I can’t even describe the feelings of nervous dread I had going down that hall every night.

Nowadays she’s a much better sleeper, and I can walk up and down that hall all I want and she won’t even stir. It makes me laugh now when I think about how much anxiety my life was filled with when she was a newborn. All I wanted back then was for someone to tell me that it gets easier, but most parents would only tell me that it stayed difficult forever. They claimed it was just difficult in different ways.

I’m here to make the claim that it does get easier. I think the majority of those parents who say it stays just as hard might not remember the newborn phase very accurately, or maybe they just had babies who were more laid back. Perhaps they weren’t as whacked out on postpartum hormones as I was. Whatever the reason, I have to disagree. I wholeheartedly believe that it’s far easier to deal with a preschooler than it is to be in the very early stages of being a new mom.

I know many of you may disagree with me, and I welcome your say. On the other hand, if you are someone who is combing the Internet looking for someone to tell you that the incredible stress associated with being a new mom someday eases a little, let me be the one to tell you…it does get easier.

Britney Spears’ hospital stay has been extended to two more weeks. But before this, she made sure to fill the news with her antics, of driving around in her new car and getting lost, then getting hysterical. Britney supposedly has been prescribed with medications for bipolar disorder too, which she did not take and thus aggravated her condition.

There have been a lot of speculations already as to why Britney is going through a very bad meltdown. Some say her break-up with former boyfriend Justin Timberlake unhinged her. Some say it’s the break-up of her marriage. Some also say that this is a result of too much (fame, fortune) too soon.

Most probably, it’s a combination of all these. I also think postpartum depression should be added to the list of contributing factors.

Mayo Clinic states that symptoms of postpartum depression vary depending on the form of depression:

Signs and symptoms of the baby blues ? which last only a few days or weeks ? may include:

~ Anxiety
~ Sadness
~ Irritability
~ Crying
~ Headaches
~ Exhaustion
~ A sense of inadequacy

Postpartum depression may appear to be the baby blues at first ? but the signs and symptoms are more intense and longer lasting, eventually interfering with your ability to function. In addition to the signs and symptoms listed above, you may experience:

~ Constant fatigue
~ Lack of joy in life
~ A sense of emotional numbness or failure
~ Withdrawal from family and friends
~ Lack of concern for yourself or your baby
~ Excessive concern for your baby
~ Less interest in sex
~ Severe mood swings
~ Impaired thinking or concentration
~ Insomnia

With postpartum psychosis ? a rare condition that develops within the first six weeks after delivery ? the signs and symptoms are even more severe. In addition to the signs and symptoms listed above, you may experience:

~ Fear of harming yourself or your baby
~ Confusion and disorientation
~ Hallucinations and delusions
~ Paranoia

We have to remember that Britney was the Pop Princess for a long time, with everything going for her. But then she was suddenly married. Then she got pregnant. And within months of delivering Sean Preston (now two years old), she was pregnant again with Jayden James (now sixteen months old).

Especially during her first pregnancy, the tabloids have not been kind to her. Imagine being pregnant, with all your hormones raging, and being called fat and ugly at the same time? Imagine being under the mercy of paparazzi when you’re dealing with the changes in your life and the impact of the baby on your marriage?

And then her parenting skills were also criticized. I am not saying she didn’t make some bad calls but I will also not pretend to know how it felt like to be called a ‘bad mother’ by the press.

Having a baby was one of the more difficult times in my life. I only got to enjoy its rewards because I got steady and unconditional support from people who truly loved me. But every little thing can get to you. Every little thing can seem personal. And having to deal with so many changes is already enough to make a woman go mental, however briefly.

So imagine being Britney.

And then consider the fact that it’s not unheard of to hear extreme cases wherein a mother ends up committing suicide or killing her child/children because of postpartum depression. Britney dressing up and going on drinking binges and smashing her car on other cars is actually still tame, only her tricks usually make front-page news.

So could Britney be suffering from postpartum depression too? I say, highly likely.