Everyone’s Talking
About Post Partum Depression, Anxiety, and Mommy Burnout.
Why do I care?
New recommendations were released this week by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists regarding postpartum health. The recommendations encourage providers to see moms throughout their ‘4th Trimester’. Additionally, there has been a lot of recent coverage on the topic in movies, TV segments, on blogs, and in books. It’s clear changes in postpartum health and how it is viewed are in the works.
Tell me more.
On Monday, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists released a new recommendation that encourages providers to include postpartum, ‘4th-trimester’ care for mothers into normal practice. According to the Chicago Tribune, “The care, which ideally would begin within three weeks of giving birth, would improve the health of both mother and baby by offering a continual assessment of the woman’s physical, social and psychological well-being.” The full set of guidelines will be released in May’s issue of the college’s Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Tully a movie featuring Charlize Theron has generated great buzz for acknowledging the struggles moms can have while in the thick of motherhood. One thing to note, there are some concerns with the depiction of Postpartum Depression. Read this review on Motherly (with spoilers) if you want to have the full picture before going into the movie. It may be a trigger for moms who have dealt with PPD or PPP (Postpartum Psychosis).
Megyn Kelly with TODAY is currently in the midst of covering the varying struggles of mothers in a series dubbed Mommy Burnout. In the coverage, Dr. Sheryl Ziegler defined this as “…the emotional and physical exhaustion that you feel from the chronic stress of parenting.” In the series of segments, Moms open up about alcohol abuse and their struggles with Postpartum Depression, they discuss serious injuries that occurred while under extreme stress and more. You can read Sheryl’s expanded coverage on the topic in her newly released book, Mommy Burnout.
Blogger and Mother, Brandi Riley from Mama Knows It All writes on the BabyCenter blog about her recent diagnosis with Postpartum Anxiety, “I never really felt depressed during this postpartum period, just…off. Like, I couldn’t quite pull things together to do everything that I needed to do.” Brandi goes on to reflect how she lost interest in self-care and struggled with sleep. She ends the piece sharing how she’s making self-care a priority by asking for help and giving herself some grace through the journey.
Jill Krause from Babies Rabies recently published her story of Postpartum OCD on TODAY Parents. She writes that she didn’t realize she had a problem until she came across advice from an online resource, Postpartum Progress, which led to her seeking help. Echoing the recent recommendations of ACOG, Jill believes that every mom should have a postpartum mental health plan.
Put Your Best Foot Forward
One mom recently issued a warning to parents using car seat shoulder strap covers after her two-month-old daughter was ejected from her car seat in a collision. She highlights the fact that anything that is added to a car seat aftermarket voids the warranty and can lead to injury to the child in an accident. Car Seats for The Littles has recommendations for safe alternatives in place of some of these non-regulated car seat accessories. The Car Seat Lady covers the ‘dangers of fluff’, sharing with parents common mistakes made ( for example: wearing coats in the car seat) and products that can lead to potential injuries. Both sources offer great insight and tips for keeping baby comfortable and safe.
For Funsies
A Tiny Hands Make-up tutorial is making its rounds and is a perfect waste of time if you need a brain break. If you want to go down the rabbit hole of tiny hands entertainment, check out the Slime Tiny Hands Challenge and an SNL Skit with Kristen Wiig. Take it a step further and get the official game using ‘tiny hands’ with the Tiny Hands Challenge Game and play with your family. Friday night fun at its best.
Favorite Find
Teach your kids about social justice issues with these five games from Cool Mom Picks. The games include:
- Rise Up: The Game of People and Power
- Miniland Diversity Hotel Building Kit
- Election: The Board Game
- The Road to Racial Justice
- Resistance Bingo
Parting Thoughts
ICYMI – Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson became a Dad for the third time. He posted this swoon-worthy photo of him having a little skin-to-skin QT with his newborn daughter. His caption makes us love him even more. In part, it read, “Blessed and proud to bring another strong girl into this world.”
Also, the price of Amazon Prime is going up from $99 to $119. Reportedly, they need to bring it up to $200 to break even on the cost of deliveries, so this may not be the last of the price hikes. Boo.
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