She has a private psychotherapy practice in San Jose, and lectures all over the country. As an invited participant, she has contributed to several federally funded programs on the topic of pregnancy and postpartum mood disorders.
I have created this site to educate you about this common, but devastating, illness. Education is power, and it will lead you to the right kind of treatment. Treatment works; and depression in pregnancy and postpartum depression are VERY TREATABLE. No one deserves to suffer.
MYTHS ABOUT PREGNANCY AND MOODS:
» Every woman glows and feels happy when pregnant
TRUTH: We now think between 10-20 percent of women get depression or anxiety during pregnancy, to the degree it effects day to day functioning.
» You can’t take antidepressants when pregnant.
TRUTH: While there has been some controversial information about this, the experts in the field feel that taking medication during pregnancy needs to be considered carefully based on each woman’s situation and history. The risk from antidepressant medications seems to be very small. What we do now know is that it’s not good for the growing fetus to have a mom who is very depressed or anxious. When women stop antidepressant medication before getting pregnant, or when they find out they are pregnant, they most often experience depression during the pregnancy.
The New England Journal of Medicine published an article in June 2007 on a new study about medications in early pregnancy. Here are the conclusions:
"Maternal use of SSRIs during early pregnancy was not associated with significantly
increased risks of congenital heart defects or of most other categories of birth defects.
Associations were observed between SSRI use and three types of birth defects, but
the absolute risks were small, and these observations require confirmation by other
studies."
SSRI's are medications including Zoloft, Paxil, Prozac, Celexa and Lexipro.
MYTHS ABOUT POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION:
» Only poor women get it
» Only bored women get it
» Only American’s get it
TRUTH: Postpartum Depression is seen all over the world. Different cultures and languages may describe it differently, but it happens to childbearing women of all ages, (although teens are at a higher risk) and is seen in all socioeconomic groups. In my practice, I’ve treated physicians, attorneys, rocket scientists, nurses, grocery checkers, physicists, UPS drivers, engineers, psychologists, and full-time moms.
MYTH: Postpartum Depression will go away after a while.
TRUTH: Not always! Postpartum depression, without treatment, often becomes chronic (it sticks around for a long time). It is not good for your brain to stay depressed-you are more likely to get future depressions.
It’s bad for your children to have a depressed mom, and it’s very challenging for relationships.
