No More Shame: Postpartum Support International of Washington's Executive Director, Heidi Koss, Speaks on Ending PPMD Stigma on NPR

My esteemed colleague and friend Heidi Koss, Executive Director of Postpartum Support International of Washington is featured in an interview with NPR's Joanne Silberner. Heidi Koss shares her personal struggle with Postpartum Depression, and her personal quest to end the stigma that prevents women from seeking treament for a highly treatable illness. Please share with every new and expecting parent you know.

Postpartum Support International Conference Comes to Seattle in 2011

Save the Date!
Postpartum Support International
25th Anniversary Conference
When: Sept 14-17, 2011
Where: Seattle, Washington
In the heart of downtown, at
www.seattleredlionfifthavenue.com
Stay Tuned for more details!
www.postpartum.net & www.ppmdsupport.com

Rufus Griscom and Alisa Volkman: It's time to explode 4 taboos of parenting

I highly recommend this TED talk from the founders of babble.com who (with hilarious charts and graphs) deconstruct much of the "conventional wisdom" of new parenthood, miscarriage, and hanging in there as a couple. Funny, touching, and important. Please share with new or expecting parents.

Postpartum Support International of Washington Celebrates 20 Years

Congratulations to PSI of WA for reaching its 20 year milestone. To celebrate, PSI of WA is hosting a luncheon on Wed. October 28 at the Hilton in Seattle. Dr. Shoshana Bennett, whose books I've cited in this blog, will be the keynote speaker. Bennett is the author of "Postpartum Depression For Dummies" and co-author (with Pec Indman) of "Beyond the Blues: Understanding and Treating Prenatal and Postpartum Depression." Her latest book, "Pregnant on Prozac," was released in January. Click here for details and tickets.

When the "Baby Blues" Strikes Dads

Sex therapist and relationship counselor Ian Kerner, PhD recently wrote about his own experience of depression after the birth of his first son in this article. He very astutely points out that for him, as well as for many new dads experiencing depression, he turned to the liquor cabinet as way of coping. Alcohol, being a depressant itself, further exacerbates depressive symptoms.

Kerner also lists other warning signs to look out for if a new dad you know seems to be struggling to cope with the transition to parenthood, including: changes in libido, putting up a good front, isolating himself, difficulties sleeping (even when feeling tired), family history of depression, or self-medicating. I would also note that the term "self-medicating" often refers to drugs or alcohol, but in some men, could also mean food, internet, or pornography.

Katherine Stone Corrects the Record on The MOTHERS Act

Recently, Time magazine did a story about the "controversy" surrounding postpartum mood disorder screening, which is advocated by a pending piece of legislation called The Mothers Act. Katherine Stone of the Postpartum Progress blog wrote this response to help educate journalists and the rest of us what this piece of legislation is intended to do.

Postpartum Phone Support Available for Dads

I've written here before about the mounting evidence that fathers experience postpartum mood disorders at about the same rates as mothers: approximately one in ten. The resources available for treatment, however, are much more oriented toward a mother's needs and experiences.

Postpartum Support International is working to correct this imbalance. PSI hosts a weekly "Chat With an Expert" every Monday for men who are experiencing symptoms of PPMD or for others who care about someone who is. Will Courtney, PhD, and Susan Dowd Stone, MSW, LCSW, will be taking calls to answer your questions.

When the "Home Game" Isn't Dad's "A Game"

I heard Michael Lewis, author of "Home Game," interviewed on Charlie Rose today. While a number of women have come forward about their feelings of numbness after the birth of their children (Brooke Shields, most notably, comes to mind), men have been virtually silent on the issue. It was so refreshing to hear this interview where Lewis confesses, despite the social pressure to remain silent, that he did not feel instant love for his newborn. He shares how he eventually came to love his baby, but only after the fog of sleep deprivation and new parent anxiety lifted. An important new book has arrived just in time for Father's Day.

New Study Reveals PPMDs Are Treatable and Potentially Preventable With Counseling

I watched a documentary on PBS recently about Parkinson's Disease, entitled "My Father, My Brother, and Me". One of the researchers interviewed said of the disease, "Genetics loads the gun; environment pulls the trigger."

This metaphor seems apt for post-partum mood disorders, as two recent studies point out. Some women may be genetically predisposed to PPMDs, but they still might escape its effects if it weren't for a colicky baby, a weak support network, or other "trigger." Similarly, strengthening the environment through supportive communication with a mental health professional or other trained helper can speed healing or even innoculate against PPMDs.

I find this new research especially exciting because it means a "talking cure" for PPMDs really exists, as long parents are connected with a trusted, knowledgeable counselor.

Important Postpartum Health Study Invites New Moms and Dads to Participate

The UNLV Maternal Health Lab is conducting two surveys on postpartum
mental health. We need 500 postpartum women and their partners, who have had
children within the last year and who are 18 years and older to complete a
30-minute anonymous survey. Please go to this site and click
either the Postpartum Moms or Postpartum Dads links. Thank-you for your assistance.

Alternative Treatments for Mood Disorders

With the days growing shorter here in Seattle, it's hard not to notice the way the changing seasons can affect one's mood. Coupled with the recent terrible financial crisis news, there's lots of grist out there for anxiety's and depression's mill.

I've also been thinking about the growing numbers of people who have been laid off (or are due to be laid off) from their jobs, and will be going without health insurance. Without such insurance, the cost of psychopharmacological interventions can be prohibitive. With that in mind, here are a few ideas for (potentially) lower cost alternatives:

Light Therapy: Long recommended as a treatment for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), there is growing evidence (as in this meta-analysis by Gjerdingen) that it can be effective for treating antenatal and postpartum mood disorders. And while phototherapy equipment isn't cheap (I think they go for $250, or thereabouts), it's still less expensive than a month-long trip to Hawaii (which, in my opinion, the government should subsidize for us in the far northern reaches of the U.S., don't you agree?)

Massage Therapy: Gjerdingen also points out that massage therapy has been effective in reducing stress and anxiety symptoms in teenage mothers (a notoriously stressed-out group). Yes, massage therapy can become pricey quickly. It's worth asking at your local massage school or community college about their rates for student massages. (Many charge little or nothing at all in exchange for helping out a massage student.)

Yoga: I've written lots about yoga's beneficial effects on anxiety and depression in this blog. Please see my previous posts for evidence of its efficacy, and particular poses to try for various mood problems.

I'm sure lots of you have ideas about inexpensive ways of coping when mood problems set in. You are welcome to post them in the comments section, so we may all learn from each other's experience and wisdom.

The latest on PPMD research

The July 31 issue of Neuron reported some promising news for PPMD treatment. I'll do my best to put the researcher's findings in lay terms.

The researchers found (in mice) that when the brain has dysregulated levels of GABA receptors, mice showed more signs of anxiety and depression after birth and had a higher pup mortality rate. When the mice were treated with Gaboxadol, a drug originally designed to treat sleep disorders, the GABA-recptor-affected mice had fewer PPMD-like symptoms, as with those mice with well-regulated GABA receptors.

The researchers, thus, believe that (in humans) post-partum mood disorders and potentially premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder may be caused by impaired trafficking of GABA receptors, and not by fluctuations in hormonal levels, as previously believed.

Let's hope this latest research brings us one step closer to finding a successful treatment for PPMDs and other health concerns.

Believing in Change

Here's a little secret about therapy: One of the key factors to therapy's success has nothing to do with the skill or training of your therapist. One's own sense of hope and expectation for change can very well determine therapy's success. Now, any therapist worth her salt should be able to reflect hope and optimism in the face of difficult problems. The important thing to remember about hope is that it can be cultivated in any situation, as long as one chooses to believe.

While hope can help us weather trying situations, it also seems to inoculate against future difficulties. A new study done by researchers at the University of South Carolina suggests that women with strong religious or spiritual ties registered lower rates of postpartum depression than women without them. I'm going to make a leap here and propose that it's the hopefulness associated with a religious and/or spiritual orientation that prevented the seeds of postpartum depression from taking root. That's not to say that all hopeful women won't get PPMDs, or that only pessimists are struck with postpartum mood disorders. What I'm suggesting is that our "immunity" to depressive illnesses gets a boost from an active hopefulness practice. And while susceptibility to depressive illnesses isn't within one's control, cultivating one's own sense of hope and optimism is.

Finally, some hopeful news we can believe in!

Community PPMD Discussion in Spokane

Debunking the theory that there is no free lunch, the lovely people over at the Council for Children and Families and Postpartum Support International of Washington are hosting a free community discussion on post-partum mood disorders, lunch included! The event takes place June 12 at the downtown Spokane Public Library in austerely beautiful eastern Washington. Please help spread the word about this very important event, all you Inland Emperesses and Emperors! To RSVP write to: wcpcan@wcpcan.wa.gov, or visit their web site: www.wcpcan.wa.gov.

When Perfectionism Conspires With Anxiety

I was just thinking back to the night when I was about eight months pregnant and reading "Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn" by Penny Simkin and Ann Keppler. I came across the section on risk factors for post-partum mood disorders. They listed perfectionism as one of the factors that seems to contribute to ppmds. This memory got me thinking about mood problems in general--and anxiety, specifically--and how perfectionism conspires with anxiety to make one feel less than fine.

Perfectionism can be a terrific motivator. But it can also sabotage. What happens when "perfectionism's expectations" go unfulfilled? Can perfectionism ever be truly satisfied? If you knew perfectionism were satisfied, how would you know? If perfectionism went unsatisfied what would it do?

My guess is that when perfectionism goes unsatisfied (say, because a baby is demanding more from a parent than s/he feels able to give), anxiety finds fresh fuel. Thoughts of "I'm not good enough/I can't fix it/It's hopeless" creep in.

Unfortunately, our culture does little to quash perfectionism's claims. Every time I hear the Oprah slogan "Your best life now", I want to scream. What if one's "best life now" means rocking a crying baby to sleep at 3:00 a.m., or waiting for a new driver's license at the DMV, or just having a rather ho-hum day. Is this my best life now? Is there something else I could be doing to have a better life now? Is everyone else around me having their best lives now, while mine is deferred by doing laundry and sorting through junk mail? On the surface, this desire to live one's best life seems a fine goal, but further mining reveals some very dry kindling for perfectionism's--and thus anxiety's--fire.

I'm working on a new slogan for Oprah. "A great life some of the time, and a pretty okay life the rest of the time" isn't quite as catchy as hers. But it might just help keep anxiety and perfectionism quiet for a while. And maybe that truly is our best life now.

Help Karen Kleiman with her Important Research

Karen Kleiman is a tireless author, clinician, trainer, and advocate for advancements in ppmd research and treatment. I cannot say enough good things about the work she does. If you've had a baby in the past year, please consider participating in her latest research project:

As many of you know, I have been collaborating with a research team at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine who have expertise in postpartum distress and scale design. We have performed an initial statistical analysis on a new postpartum distress scale.

At this stage, we would like to re-test our proposed scale items, along with established measures, such as the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS).

We need approximately 100 postpartum women (with babies up to 12-months old) to complete this phase of the study. I am hoping that you will post a link to the questionnaire, which is offered online, for your members or your clients, to help us further validate this measure.

No problem, Karen! Please click on this link to be directed to her survey.