Postpartum

• Postpartum Impression - New mom care in France compared to the US

  2008-02-07 23:11:59

  We’ve been upped again in the health care field by the French. Check out this New York Times article on perineal re-education by an American writer currently living in Paris. Here’s an excerpt: After a woman [in France] has a baby, perineal re-education shapes up her stretched-out birth canal. It also strengthens her pelvic floor for [...]
• Postpartum Expert Video

  2008-01-17 19:16:18

  Dr. Shoshana Bennett is a licensed psychologist who founded Postpartum Assistance for Mothers in 1987 after her second undiagnosed postpartum illness. She is also the author of Postpartum Depression for Dummies and Beyond The Blues. Last Monday, the 14th, she was a guest on the TV morning show The View From The Bay. In [...]
• Another postpartum diary entry

  2007-11-08 18:32:59

  11/30/95 Today is a good day. Getting a good night’s sleep makes a world of difference, although we did get woken up by our neighbors fighting out on the sidewalk at five a.m.! I couldn’t believe it. We’ve lived here almost a year and never hear a peep out of them, then that [...]
• More from my postpartum diary

  2007-10-11 18:19:42

  12/4/95: The kids are hitting a raw nerve today. I just have no patience. I feel so guilty because I’m not into the stay-at-home mom thing. Am I a terrible person? I know there are people who would give anything to do this, but, then I wonder - if they actually did [...]
• Gestational Diabetes and Postpartum Blood Sugar Tests

  2007-09-07 20:36:57

  From 2001-2004, 344 women with gestational diabetes (GD) - high blood sugar during pregnancy - were tracked by Dr. Michelle A. Russell, MD, of the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Vermont. Dr. Russell found that less than half of the women were checked for blood sugar levels at their postpartum visit. [...]
• She loves her postpartum body

  2007-06-13 19:53:50

  Thank you to Melissa Patrice Anderson for allowing me to post her beautiful essay of self-love. It originally appeared on Mother’s Day in the Sacramento Bee. SHE LOVES HER POSTPARTUM BODY by Melissa Patrice Anderson The story of Anya’s pregnancy is written here. My belly button, new and different, remembers her relentless growth. The flesh apron at my waist traces the sanctuary my body created for her. My hips, widened by the months of pregnancy and the force of childbirth, reflect her passage into our lives. Anya marked my body. She left her shape inside me. My pregnancy has ended, but the story of this pregnancy is written here, an indelible mark, a tribute to the time we shared in this body. I love my postpartum body. You may email Melissa at: melissapatrice@yahoo.com
• Postpartum risk for service wives

  2007-06-06 21:43:21

  On May 26th, the Los Angeles Times ran an article about the increased risk of postpartum depression (PPD) for military wives. Their risk is almost three times that of other women. There was one mistake that I noted in the article. You can find it below in an abridged version of the piece: Women with spouses on military deployment during their pregnancies face a nearly threefold higher risk for postpartum depression in initial screening tests, researchers reported. The findings mean that military wives should be informed of the risk and aggressively screened for depression during their postpartum medical exams, said lead author Dr. Jeffrey Millegan of the Naval Medical Center in San Diego. Postpartum depression is believed to affect 10% to 15% of new mothers and can occur up to three months (Melanie’s note: Not true! PPD can occur anytime in the first year) after childbirth. Antidepressants or psychotherapy are effective treatments. The study, presented May 21st at an Americ