PRACTICE: REPRODUCTIVE PSYCHOLOGY

Information on Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs) 
 
Things to know about perinatal mood disorders:
  •  An estimated 15-20% of new mothers experience a mood disorder during pregnancy or postpartum.  Postpartum depression is the most well known mood disorder, however women can also suffer from postpartum anxiety, postpartum OCD, postpartum PTSD after a birth trauma, and postpartum psychosis, which is the rarest of all the disorders.  It is important to note that partners and dads can also experience postpartum depression.

  • There are an array of symptoms that can be experienced  including but not limited to:
    sadness/mood swings - isolating from friends and family - panic attacks - feeling that you should have never become a mother - feeling that your baby doesn't like you - irritation and anger directed at yourself or others -excessive worry about your baby - disturbing thoughts of images of harm coming to your baby - sleep or appetite changes - lack of interest in activities you once enjoyed - delusions/hallucinations - feeling that your baby may be better off without you.

    If you are having any of these symptoms, it is important that you seek help. These are treatable illnesses. You are not alone, this is not your fault (you are not defective or weak), and you can feel better.
 
About Perinatal Loss

If you are reading this after the loss of your baby or babies, I am so sorry.  You may feel very alone in your grief. Often others do not know what to say; sometimes others stop asking or mentioning your baby just when you need the most support.  

You and your partner may have different ways of coping and grieving, which may make you feel even more alone in your grief. Seeing pregnant women and  babies may be very difficult.  You may miss that assumptive world before your loss where you believed everything would be okay. Subsequent pregnancies can be difficult because you no longer take for granted that things will be okay.  
Your grief may feel unbearable at times and at other times you may feel numb or disconnected to your loss. There is no one way to grieve, but support is essential. Losing a child changes you, but you can move forward in life and find ways to honor and hold the memory of your child close.
 Perinatal Loss Resources

  • Empty Cradle -  Dedicated to providing support to families who have experienced the loss of a baby due to miscarriage, stillbirth, infant death or SIDS.
    New support group in conjunction with Elizabeth Hospice Center for Compassionate Care which meets the 4th Tuesday of each month at the Elizabeth Hospice Center in Poway, CA. Call 619-595-3887 for details.
  • Miss Foundation - Online support forums for families who have lost a child from any cause.
  • Compassionate Friends - Online support and resources for families who have lost a child at any age.
  • First Candle - Online support for families who have lost a child under a year old. 24-hr hotline staffed by grief counselors (800)221-7437
  • Grief Net - Comprehensive grief resource site
  • March of Dimes Online Discussion Forum - Parent to Parent section for Share Your Story comunity members to ask questions, raise concerns and lend some advice about parenting a premature baby, a baby with birth defect or talk about issues around pregnancy and infant loss.
  • Jenna Druck Foundation - Provides programs and services to support bereaved families
  • Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep - Volunteer photographers to take pictures of your baby who has died or who is dying at the hospital.
  • Support of Fetal Trisomies (S.O.F.T.) Phone: 800-716-SOFT - Information and grief support offered by telephone throughout San Diego County
  • North County Support Group for Bereaved Parents - Meets on  the Second and Fourth Wednesdays of the month from 6:30pm-8:30pm in Carlsbad, CA.  Call or email for more information: 760-420-9253 or [email protected]

SIDS Resources

  • Guild for Infant Survival - Local web site which provides information and support for families who have lost a baby to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
Loss in a multiple birth

  • CLIMB (Center for Loss in Multiple Birth, Inc.) - For parents who have lost one or more of their twins, triplets or higher order multiples. This web site provides on line support as well as information and resources on how to write birth announcements, handle birthdays and anniversaries.
  • Loss in Multiple Birth Support Group - Meets the 3rd Sunday of the month every other month (Jan.,Mar.,May, July, Sept., Nov.) from 1-3pm at the Sharp Outpatient Pavilion in San Diego, CA which is adjacent to Mary Birch Hospital in room A on the first floor. Contact Yvonne Rothermel, LCSW (619) 218-9803 for more information.
Continuing the pregnancy despite a poor prenatal diagnosis

Waiting with Love - For parents who chose to continue a pregnancy knowing their unborn baby will die before or shortly after birth and for families who learn their newborn will die.
Termination due to birth defects/lethal anomalies

A Heartbreaking Choice - Online support for families who have undergone a pregnancy termination due to a poor prenatal diagnosis or other cause.
Deciding to take an infant off life support

When Courage Lies in Letting go: Turning toward End of Life Palliative Care for Your Child by Deborah Davis, Ph.D.
Support for abortions

Abortion changes you - A confidential website for those who are touched by abortion, whether the experience happened recently or years ago.