Essential Reads – What’s the Difference Between PME and PMDD? How Should We Treat PME?
About 60% of women with mood disorders experience premenstrual exacerbation or PME of their mood during the premenstrual phase of their cycle.
Essential Reads – Postpartum Psychosis: A Diagnosis for the DSMV
In a recent article, Margaret Spinelli, MD describes a proposal to the DSM-V committee of the American Psychiatric Association in 2020 arguing for the inclusion of postpartum psychosis as a unique diagnosis...
Essential Reads: Recognizing Postpartum Psychosis
Because postpartum psychosis is relatively uncommon, we do not have as much information on this illness as we have on postpartum depression. Â In addition, most of the literature we have on postpartum psychosis is not [...]
Essential Reads: A Clinical Guide for the Diagnosis and Treatment of PMDD
In an evidence-based review published in 2012, Laura Wakil, Samantha Meltzer-Brody, and Susan Girdler present a thorough review of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), reviewing its diagnosis and treatment options.
Essential Reads: ADHD in Girls and Women
In childhood, ADHD is clearly more common in boys than in girls; however, in adult samples, the sex differences in prevalence are mush smaller. There is also increasing recognition that girls and women may present [...]
Essential Reads: Innovative Methods for Addressing Substance Abuse During Pregnancy
While the use of alcohol and tobacco during pregnancy is falling, the use of cannabis and opioids is increasing. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists now recommends universal screening for substance use to be [...]
Using the WHIPLASHED Mnemonic to Distinguish Unipolar from Bipolar Depression
Women with bipolar disorder (BD) are at extremely high risk for postpartum psychiatric illness, including postpartum psychosis. While the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology now recommends that all women be screened for depression [...]
Postpartum Depression: Unipolar or Bipolar?
About 15% of women will experience postpartum depression after the birth of a child. While most of those women will have unipolar depression, a certain number of women will have bipolar depression. At this juncture, [...]
Essential Reads: Screening for Perinatal Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety symptoms are common during pregnancy and the postpartum period. According to a recent meta-analysis from Fawcett and colleagues, about one out of every five women has at least one type of anxiety disorder [...]
In NYC, A Home Visiting Program Addresses the Mental Health of New Mothers
In the United Kingdom (UK), health visitors (professionals who have at least three years of general nursing education and one year of specialist training) provide home visits to all women after birth as part [...]