Postpartum Health Articles
There are many articles with useful information about postpartum health. We hope you find these informative and helpful.
Perinatal Depression And Anxiety
By: Diana Lynn Barnes, Psy.D., LMFT
There is no more profound transition in the life of a woman than her passage into motherhood. It touches us at so many different levels – physiologically, emotionally, psychologically and even spiritually. With motherhood comes a pronounced shift in our internal sense of us in the world. This psychological metamorphosis often feels like a crisis of identity as new mothers try to adjust to the sudden and dramatic change in their lives. It can often seem as though we are teetering between two worlds – the familiar world we left behind – the world where routine, time, companionship and freedom were an expected constant - and the current world which, particularly during the first year postpartum, is unpredictable, routine-less, and certainly lacking in the freedom to move about our day without having to first consider the seemingly relentless needs and requirements of a newborn. In order to fully embrace motherhood, we need to mourn the life that appears to have been left behind so that we can create a successful balance between that life we knew and the eye-opening physical and emotional challenges of the first year postpartum.Full article
A Closer Look: Understanding Mood Disorders
by Diana Lynn Barnes, Psy.D., MFT
“My baby had been crying for an hour. I felt nauseous. I had a 4-year-old in the next room, a screaming baby, and I felt myself unraveling away from my backbone. I started to shake. The quivering came from the deepest part of my soul, a place that you’re only aware of when you’re about to die. I needed to throw up, but I couldn’t get out of bed. I tried to sit up, but my eyes couldn’t see,, and I was dizzy. I felt scared. I thought I had made a horrible mistake. I didn’t want to take care of this baby.” Full article
Postpartum Depression: Ambivalence as a Risk Factor
by Diana Lynn Barnes, Psy.D., MFT
Ambivalence about the maternal role is one of the presenting psychological risk factors in the onset of a postpartum depression. As clinicians working with women and their families around issues of pregnancy and birth, it is of critical importance that we are able to identify risk factors that can potentially lead to a disruption in the developing attachment between mother and infant. Full article
