New Research from the CWMH: Complementary Therapies Commonly Taken by Pregnant Women with Psychiatric Illness
When I recently reviewed the stats for our website, I was surprised when I looked at the most frequently visited posts. I was expecting to find at the top of the list one of our posts on antidepressants and pregnancy or perhaps a post on postpartum depression. Nope, I was way off. Our most popular post by far is Melatonin in Pregnancy: Is it Safe? I think this speaks to the [...]
What Happens When Breastfeeding Doesn’t Go As Planned?
We often see women with postpartum depression (PPD) who are also experiencing problems with breastfeeding. Several different questions arise. Are these women depressed because they are having problems with breastfeeding? Or does their depression and/or anxiety make it more difficult for them to breastfeed? Many previous studies have looked at the association between breastfeeding and postpartum depression; however, the results have been mixed. One research study suggests that its more complicated; [...]
Using the EPDS to Measure Postpartum Depression Severity
The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is the instrument most commonly used to identify depression in postpartum women. Traditionally, a cut-off score of 13 is used to distinguish depressed from nondepressed women. Because depression exists along a continuum with regard to severity, this yes-or-no approach to the diagnosis of depression has its limitations. By labeling women with EPDS scores of less than 13 as “not depressed”, we may be missing [...]
In Brief: Pregnant Women who Use Marijuana Not Informed of the Risks
According to a recent study, obstetrical care providers often do not counsel their pregnant patients who use marijuana about the potential risks associated with its use during pregnancy. In fact, nearly half of pregnant women who disclosed marijuana use did not receive any sort of counseling or information specific to the use of marijuana during pregnancy. This is a growing problem given that the use of marijuana --recreational and medical -- [...]
CBT for Depression During Pregnancy: Good for Moms, Good for Babies
Australian researchers have developed a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) treatment intervention for antenatal depression and anxiety. Beating the Blues Before Birth, to be delivered as individual therapy, was adapted from a 12-session group intervention for postpartum depression previously developed by Milgrom and colleagues (Milgrom et al. 1999, 2005). Interestingly, this intervention was modified for individual therapy because it was so difficult to recruit patients for group treatment during pregnancy. In this [...]
New Research from the CWMH: Newer Antipsychotics and Pregnancy
Despite the increasing use of the newer “atypical” or second-generation antipsychotic agents to treat a spectrum of psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, PTSD and other anxiety disorders, we have relatively little data on the reproductive safety of these newer atypical agents. In response to this deficit, the National Pregnancy Registry for Atypical Antipsychotics was created to evaluate the safety of atypical antipsychotic medications taken by women during pregnancy. [...]