Mentoring Mothers

“Change is not pleasant, but change is constant. Only when we change and grow, we’ll see a world we never know.”
- From Wisdom of The Orange Woodpecker

HealthDay (12/3, Preidt) reported, “Major depression and conflicts with intimate partners increase the risk of suicide among pregnant women and new mothers,” according to a study in the journal General Hospital Psychiatry, after analyzing data on “2,083 suicides among women aged 15 to 54.”

“Nothing is likely to help a person overcome or endure troubles than the consciousness of having a task in life.”
- Victor Frankl

“Making others happy, through kindness of speech and sincerity of right advice, is a sign of true greatness. To hurt another soul by sarcastic words, looks, or suggestions, is despicable.”
- Paramahansa Yogananda

The Los Angeles Times (12/5, Roan) discusses “a sudden-onset mental illness…diagnosed as pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with streptococcus, or PANDAS. The puzzling name describes children who have obsessive-compulsive disorder that occurs suddenly — and often dramatically — within days or weeks of a simple infection, such as strep throat.”  Studies are reinforcing the belief that some psychiatric illnesses can be triggered by ordinary infections and the body’s immune response.”  Research raises the possibility that some mental illness might be cured by treating the immune system dysfunction.”

“All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
- Pablo Picasso

Researchers in Sweden compared data on antenatal care and delivery method for 353 women who received psychological counseling for fear of childbirth with data for 579 women with no such fear.  They found that 16.5% of those who had fear of childbirth had cesarean delivery (CD), while 9.6% of nonfearful women did. The study (pdf) was published in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica.

HealthDay (12/3, Preidt) reported, “First-time mothers and fathers have a tougher time adapting to their new roles if they believe society expects them to be perfect parents,” according to a study in the Journal Personality and Individual Differences. After looking “at 182 couples who became parents between 2008 and 2010,” researchers found that mothers had less confidence and fathers felt more stress when worried about what others thought of their parenting skills.

HealthDay (10/7, Dotinga) reports that according to a study published online Oct. 3 in the Archives of General Psychiatry, ” …long-term psychotherapies may do a better job than an antidepressant in preventing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following a traumatic event.” In a study of 242 people who had recently suffered from a traumatic event and who were experiencing severe stress, researchers discovered that “between 21 percent and 23 percent of the participants in the groups that got psychotherapy developed PTSD, while 42 percent and 47 percent of those who took the drug or placebo, respectively, developed symptoms.”

Women who experienced severe pain during their first 2 weeks of breast-feeding were twice as likely to be depressed by 2 months postpartum as were mothers who experienced no pain with early breast-feeding.
Mothers who received lactation support for moderate or severe pain with early breast-feeding were significantly less likely to develop postpartum depression than were those who did not receive lactation support.
— Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, MD, MS
Published in Journal Watch Women’s Health August 18, 2011

“Don’t let the past steal your present”
- Cherralea Morgen

“Every person, especially every woman, should be alone sometime during the year, some part of each week, and each day.”
- Anne Morrow Lindberg

Reuters (11/14) reports that, according to a study at the American Heart Association meeting, women who experienced abuse early in life may face a higher likelihood of heart problems as adults.  HealthDay (11/14, Dallas) reports that the researchers found that “women who were repeatedly raped as children or teenagers were at 62 percent higher risk for heart disease.” Participants “who suffered severe physical abuse as children or teens had a 45 percent increased risk for heart disease.”

“Your work is to discover your work and then, with all your heart, to give yourself to it.”
- Buddha

“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan.”
- John Rohn

“Be as simple as you can be; you will be astonished to see how uncomplicated and happy your life can become.”
- Paramahansa Yogananda

Rates of PTSD are higher in pregnant women than non-pregnant women.  Beck (2011), found in a nationwide study of 1,373 postpartum women that 9% met diagnostic criteria for PTSD while 18% had significantly elevated symptoms.  The unique psychological and physical aspects of pregnancy may exacerbate PTSD.  For women who have PTSD related to childhood abuse, preparing to become a parent can carry complex feelings and worsen anxiety.  Physical changes during pregnancy or prenatal care could trigger symptoms in women with a history of sexual abuse.  Seng investigated perinatal outcomes for 839 women with and without PTSD. infants born to mothers with PTSD had a lower mean birth weight than infants in the trauma-exposed group without PTSD or the group without a trauma history.  Additionally, Smith(2006), found that women with active PTSD symptoms in pregnancy were more likely to engage in poor health behaviors, including substance use, which may impact infant outcomes.

“One has to live in the present. Whatever is past is gone beyond recall; whatever is future remains beyond one’s reach, until it becomes present. Remembering the past and giving thought to the future are important, but only to the extent that they help one deal with the present.”
- S.N. Goenka

BBC News (10/27) reports, “Parents who joke and pretend with their children are giving them a head start in life,” according to the UK’s Stirling University.  Both activities are important in building social and life skills children need and demonstrated that “pretending and joking are two very different things and that children as young as two can tell them apart.”

Delayed umbilical cord clamping results in better iron status for the infant than does immediate clamping, a BMJ study concludes. The researchers calculate that delayed cord clamping of 20 infants would prevent one case of iron deficiency. An editorialist reminds readers that delayed clamping allows “placental transfusion,” which increases the total blood volume by almost a third. He concludes that the study “is convincing enough to encourage a change of practice.”
BMJ article (Free)
BMJ editorial (Subscription required)

Researchers in the Netherlands studied 202 middle-aged and older adults who had moderate depressive symptoms. The therapy involved a structured review of the participant’s life, a focus on coping with past negative experiences and conflicts, retrieving positive memories, and finding positive meaning to life. The patients were encouraged to develop alternative life stories.  Life review therapy was significantly superior to treatment as usual in reducing depressive symptoms posttreatment and at 3 months follow-up; improvement persisted at 9 months follow-up. This intervention, with its focus on integrating past experiences, meaning, values, and self-efficacy, is a promising treatment for early, mild-to-moderate depression in middle-aged and older adults.
— Deborah Cowley, MD
Published in Journal Watch Psychiatry November 7, 2011

HealthDay (11/8, Dotinga) reports that according to a study in Pediatrics, “children of fathers who seem depressed are more likely to show signs of behavioral and emotional problems.” After examining “results of surveys of nearly 22,000 US children aged five to 17 and of their mothers and fathers,” researchers also found that children “whose parents both seem depressed are at particularly high risk.”

Some 1300 women completed depression assessments during pregnancy and through 12 months postpartum. Nearly 40% of women who experience depression in the 12 months after childbirth also suffer from intimate partner violence, according to the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. The authors emphasize the importance of assessing mental health regularly throughout the 12 months after childbirth. Intimate partner violence “may be an important factor for health professionals to consider” when treating women with postpartum depression.

BJOG article (Free abstract)

Journal Watch Psychiatry summary of 2010 study showing link between intimate partner violence during pregnancy and postpartum depression

Homicide and suicide during pregnancy account for more maternal deaths than do obstetric causes.  Pregnancy-associated violent death — often a tragic result of conflict with an intimate partner — is an important cause of maternal death.
— Allison Bryant, MD, MPH
Published in Journal Watch Women’s Health December 8, 2011

“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” – Albert Einstein

HealthDay (10/5, Salamon) reports that according to a study published in Translational Psychiatry, “it appears that kids unlucky enough to get a ‘downer’ personality gene can end up with sunnier outlooks when they’re parented in a warm, positive manner.” Researchers concluded this after studying “nearly 1,900 children aged nine through 15″ carrying “a shortened version of the 5-HTTLPR gene, which…has been linked in prior research to anxiety and depression” by predisposing carriers “to lower serotonin levels in the brain.” Conversely, “‘genetically susceptible’ children who experienced unsupportive parenting showed fewer positive emotions.”

“Be present – it is the only moment that matters.”
- Peaceful Warrior