Publications - Perinatal Emotional Concerns

Drinking in pregnancy tied to subtle changes in babies’ faces, by Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, Jun 9 2017.

“Women who drink even a little bit of alcohol during pregnancy may be more likely than other mothers to have babies with slight facial abnormalities that have been linked to developmental problems, a recent study suggests...'We are surprised to see these differences in facial shape with low doses of alcohol exposure, which in our study was defined as two standard drinks on any one occasion and no more than seven in a week,' said lead study author Evelyne Muggli of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the University of Melbourne in Australia. 'This means that any level of alcohol contributes to the way the face is formed and raises questions about the possible impact on brain development, which is the subject of further research,' Muggli said by email. ”

Dads, like moms, are at risk of depression after a child’s birth, researchers report, by Megan Thielking, STAT News, Feb 15 2017.

“New dads are at risk of experiencing the same symptoms of postpartum depression as women who’ve just given birth — despite the fact that their bodies don’t go through the same sort of changes.  A paper published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry finds that just over four percent of new fathers experience elevated symptoms of depression after their children are born.  The idea of postpartum depression among new dads is a relatively new one, and the study’s authors say raising awareness about the issue is a critical first step. That, combined with screenings, could help catch symptoms of depression among new fathers and treat them early. ”

Can Mental Illness Be Prevented In The Womb?, by Bret Stetka , NPR, Oct 22 2016.

“Questions about whether ADHD might arise a few years down the road or whether schizophrenia could crop up in young adulthood tend to be overshadowed by more immediate parental anxieties. As a friend with a newborn daughter recently fretted over lunch, "I'm just trying not to drop her!"  Yet much as pediatricians administer childhood vaccines to guard against future infections, some psychiatrists now are thinking about how to shift their treatment-centric discipline toward one that also deals in early prevention. ”

Violence, Drugs, Mental Illness May Account for Half of Maternal Deaths, by Janice Wood, Psych Central, Oct 16 2016.

“Intimate partner violence, substance use and mental illness may be as threatening to health and survival during pregnancy as medical issues, according to a new study...Although substance use, serious mental illness and intimate partner violence may also be exacerbated by pregnancy and are known to worsen perinatal outcomes, deaths specifically due to these causes are not included in current definitions of U.S. maternal mortality, the researchers noted. ”

Study links antidepressants in pregnancy with language disorders, by Susan Scutti, CNN, Oct 12 2016.

“Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, known as SSRIs, are the most common type of antidepressants prescribed to pregnant women. Yet a new study indicates that when taken during pregnancy, the drugs are associated with a higher risk of language disorders, including dyslexia, in offspring. The children of women who took SSRIs while pregnant have a 37% greater risk of speech or language disorders compared with the children of depressed but unmedicated mothers, the researchers say. ”

Postpartum Psychosis Often Missed in Women With Bipolar Disorder, by Rick Nauert, PhD, PsychCentral, Sep 12 2016.

“New research identifies that postpartum psychosis, a serious disorder, often goes undiagnosed and untreated among women with bipolar disorder...Postpartum psychosis almost always stems from bipolar disorder but is often missed because of its rarity and lack of research on the subject... ”

New Programs Help Parents Cope With Stillbirth and Infant Death, by Laura Landro, The Wall Street Journal, Jun 6 2016.

“Despite advances in pregnancy care, each year in the U.S. there are approximately 50,000 stillbirths and infant deaths shortly after delivery, a rate that hasn’t budged in years. Some are the result of genetic abnormalities or unanticipated complications, but often there is no known cause. Now, as researchers learn more about the traumatic effects of such deaths on families, more hospitals are creating programs to help them cope. So-called perinatal-loss coordinators train staff to provide compassionate care and guidance for both practical and emotional issues. They are connecting grieving parents with support groups, counseling and nonprofit advocacy groups that help mothers move on and in many cases try again for a successful pregnancy. ”

Teen Moms Trust Their Gut, Even When It Puts Their Babies At Risk, by Laurel Dalrymple, NPR, Apr 21 2016.

“Teenage mothers who know about safe-sleeping practices to reduce the risk of infant death often deliberately do not follow those recommendations, a study published Thursday finds. Each year, sudden unexpected infant death will claim about 3,500 babies up to a year old in the U.S., with about a quarter of those due to accidental suffocation or strangulation in bed. Almost all of the 43 teens in the study reported bed sharing and using loose blankets or soft bedding, which are all listed as practices to be avoided in safe-sleeping recommendations for babies.  ”

For New Parents, Dad May Be The One Missing The Most Sleep, by Tara Haelle and Emily Willingham, NPR, Apr 5 2016.

“You might think that mothers, being the ones with the breast milk, have it the worst. But science seems to indicate otherwise. For example, one 2013 study of 21 mother-father pairs enjoying their first infant experience found that fathers actually got less sleep than the mothers and experienced more confirmed sleepiness, as measured using wrist trackers. The study authors also found that even though the mothers got more sleep, their sleep was disturbed more often, which makes sense given their role in feeding. ”

An Insurance Penalty From Postpartum Depression, by Ron Liever, The New York Times, Feb 26 2016.

“In January, a government-appointed panel recommended that all pregnant women and new mothers be screened for depression. Public health advocates rejoiced, as did untold numbers of women who had not known that maternal mental illness even existed before it hit them like a freight train. But the panel did not mention one possible consequence of a diagnosis: Life and disability insurance providers have sometimes penalized women with these mental illnesses by charging them more money, excluding mental illness from coverage or declining to cover them at all. And it’s perfectly legal. ”

Short Answers to Hard Questions About Postpartum Depression, by Pam Belluck, New York Times, Jan 26 2016.

“On Tuesday, an influential health panel, the United States Preventive Services Task Force, issued new recommendations for depression screening, explicitly saying that women should be screened during pregnancy and after childbirth. Here are answers to some questions about depression screening and maternal mental illness. ”

Panel Calls for Screenings During and After Pregnancy, by Pam Belluck, New York Times, Jan 26 2016.

“Women should be screened for depression during pregnancy and after giving birth, an influential government-appointed health panel said Tuesday, the first time it has recommended screening for maternal mental illness. ”

Depression in Mom or Dad Increases Risk of Premature Baby, by Nicholas Bakalar , New York Times, Jan 26 2016.

“Having a mother or father who is depressed increases the risk of preterm birth, a new study has found. Swedish researchers used data on 366,499 singleton births, and assessed whether parents had been given a diagnosis of depression or filled a prescription for antidepressant drugs between a year before conception and the end of the second trimester. ”

The Mothers Who Can't Escape the Trauma of Childbirth, by Ilana E. Strauss, The Atlantic , Oct 2 2015.

“Many people, including doctors, confuse postpartum PTSD with postpartum depression, even though the two disorders are quite different: Mothers with postpartum depression generally don’t suffer from the intrusive memories and flashbacks that plague PTSD sufferers. Instead, they most commonly deal with things like sadness, trouble concentrating, difficulty finding joy in activities they once enjoyed, and difficulty bonding with their infants. Postpartum depression is also unique to new mothers, but any traumatic experience can bring on PTSD. Postpartum PTSD sufferers experience typical PTSD symptoms like hyper-vigilance, intrusive memories, flashbacks, severe emotional distress, irritability, trouble sleeping, and nightmares, explains Anastasia Pollock, a therapist who specializes in treating trauma. Mothers who suffer from PTSD often end up structuring their lives around their disorder, doing everything they can to avoid triggers that remind them of their trauma. ”

Birth-Defect Risk From Antidepressants Is Seen as Small, by Betsy McKay, Wall St. Journal , Jul 8 2015.

“The risk of some birth defects increases just slightly when pregnant women take certain antidepressants, according to a large study published Wednesday that sheds new light on a much-debated topic. The study, published in BMJ, a medical journal, found associations between certain birth defects and two antidepressants-Prozac, or fluoxetine, and Paxil, or paroxetine-taken in the month before pregnancy and through the first trimester. But it found no such links with three other antidepressants: Zoloft, or sertraline, the drug taken by most participants in the study’s control group, who were in treatment for depression, as well as Celexa, or citalopram, and Lexapro, or escitalopram. ”