Postpartum Depression Handout

The gentlebirth.org website is provided courtesy of
Ronnie Falcao, LM MS, a homebirth midwife in Mountain View, CA

The federal government now says it's OK for pregnant women and young children to be
injected with mercury in the H1N1 vaccine.
However, if there were more mercury-free vaccine available, they would recommend that pregnant women and young children get that instead.
Don't be fooled! Thimerosal is a form of mercury!
Autism rates dropping in California—is phase-out of thimerosal the reason? [from 2005]
Current thinking is that only genetically vulnerable babies will be affected by the thimerosol . . . maybe even as low as 1 out of 200 or 0.5%.
But if it's your child, it's 100%. Read this mother's story about her children's recovery from mercury-related autism.

Resources for the Postpartum Period

These books and support groups will be of interest to any pregnant woman or new mother, but especially to women experiencing postpartum depression or at risk of experiencing such depression.

Postpartum Depression

Burak, Carl S. with Michele Remington. The Cradle Will Fall. New York: D.I.Fine, 1994. True story of one woman’s struggle with PPD.
Comport, Maggie. Surviving Motherhood. Ashgrove Press, 1990. Looks at social and physiological causes of PPD and treatments including natural and hormonal therapies.
Dalton, Katharina. Depression After Childbirth: How to recognize and treat postnatal illness. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.
Dix, Carol. The New Mother Syndrome. Doubleday, 1985. First book that brought PPD public recognition. Historical and psychosocial overview of PPD.
Dunnewald, Anne and Diana Sanford. Postpartum Survival Guide. New Harbinger, 1994. Straightforward "what-to-do" guide. Helps you determine extent of problem and need for professional help.
Kleiman, Karen R. and Valerie D. Raskin. This Isn't What I Expected. New York: Bantam, 1994.
Naisri, Shaila. Shouldn't I Be Happy? Hands-on question and answer guidebook to all emotional problems of pregnancy.

Depression After Delivery
PO Box 1282
Morrisville PA 19067
800/944-4PPD

This organization provides information about PPD, supportive phone volunteers to talk with, and a list of experienced/sympathetic professionals in your area.

The following are clinics or counselors directly experienced in helping women with PPD. For more information about such clinics see Mothering the New Mother (see below).

Center for Postpartum Depression
2400 Chestnut Street, Suite 2203
Philadelphia PA 19103
215/561-6381
Ricardo J. Fernandez MD

Duke Postpartum Support Program
Duke University Medical Center
PO Box 3812
Durham NC 27710
919/684-3714
William S. Meyer, MSW

Mother Matters
Regional Center for Mother
and Child Care at Memorial Hospital
615 N. Michigan St.
South Bend IN 46601
219/284-7396
Jeanette O’Dell, RNC, MS

New Motherhood

Kitzinger, Sheila. The Year After Childbirth: Surviving and Enjoying the First Year of Motherhood. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1994.
Plaiksin, Sally. Mothering the New Mother. New York: Newmarket Press, 1994.

La Leche League
PO Box 1209
Franklin Park IL 60131
800/LA-LECHE

Breastfeeding support group

National Association of Postpartum Care Services
PO Box 1020
Edmonds WA 98020

Provides referrals to postpartum doulas who assist new mothers at home.

Mothers at Home
8310-A Old Courthouse Road
Vienna VA 22182
703/827-5903

Supports mothers who choose to stay at home with their children.

Dealing with a Difficult or Traumatic Birth

Madsen, Lynn. Rebounding from Childbirth. Westport, CT: Bergin and Garvey, 1994.
Panuthos, Claudia. Ended Beginnings. South Hadley, MA: Bergin and Garvey, 1984.

Breastfeeding and Medications for Postpartum Depression

This topic is cutting edge and there’s not a lot of good information available. It IS possible to breastfeed and take certain anti-depressants or natural progesterone therapy, but this is not widely known, even among mental health professionals. SUDDEN CESSATION OF BREASTFEEDING MAY WORSEN DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS. Pursue correct information before making any choices. Also see Chapter 7 of the Postpartum Survival Guide, Dunnewald and Sanford.

Altshuler, Lori, MD et al. Pharmacologic Management of Psychiatric Illness During Pregnancy: Dilemmas and Guidelines. American Journal of Psychiatry 153:5, May 1996.

Contact these professionals for more information:

Lee Cohen, MD
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Harvard Medical School
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston MA 12114
617/969-3396

Katherine L. Wisner, MD, MS
Director of Women’s Services
Mood Disorders Program
Case Western Reserve University
11400 Euclid Ave., Suite 200
Cleveland OH 44106
216/721-4600

VBAC (Vaginal Birth after Cesarean) and Cesarean Prevention

Cohen, Nancy Wainer and Lois J. Estner. Silent Knife: Cesarean Prevention and Vaginal Birth after Cesarean. New York: Bergin and Garvey, 1983.
Cohen, Nancy Wainer. Open Season: A Survival Guide for Natural Childbirth and VBAC in the 90s. New York: Bergin and Garvey, 1991.
Flamm, Bruce. Birth After Cesarean: The Medical Facts. New York: Prentice Hall, 1990.

International Cesarean Awareness Network, Inc.
1304 Kingsdale Ave.
Redondo Beach CA 90278
310/542-6400

An excellent resource with a supportive, informative newsletter, The Clarion.

Birth Alternatives Respectful of Women and their Babies

This topic is especially relevant to mothers who are at risk of postpartum depression because the more interventive a birth a woman experiences, the more likely she is to be depressed. Choose a birth alternative that will empower you AND keep your baby safe.

Arms, Suzanne. Immaculate Deception II: Myth, Magic, and Birth. Berkeley: Celestial Arts, 1994.
Jones, Carl. Alternative Birth. Los Angeles: Jeremy P. Tarcher, 1990.
Kitzinger, Sheila. The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1989.
Kitzinger, Sheila. Homebirth. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 1991.
Korte, Diana and Roberta Scaer. A Good Birth, A Safe Birth. Harvard: Harvard UP, 1992.
Sears, William. The Birth Book: Everything You Need to Know to Have a Safe and Satisfying Birth. Boston: Little, Brown and Co,1994.

Informed Homebirth/Informed Birth and Parenting
PO Box 3675
Ann Arbor MI 48106
313/662-6857

Updated 6/9/97 by J. Griebenow
821 River Hill Drive
Richmond KY 40475
606/625-0185
griebenow@iclub.org

Postpartum Depression Handout

Postpartum Depression

New Motherhood

Dealing with a Difficult or Traumatic Birth

Breastfeeding and Medications for Postpartum Depression

VBAC (Vaginal Birth after Cesarean) and Cesarean Prevention

Birth Alternatives Respectful of Women and their Babies

This Web page is referenced from another page containing related information about Postpartum Depression

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Main Index Page of the Midwife Archives

Main page of gentlebirth.org Mirror site

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