Spit-up On My Shoulder

This is an entry from the journal I kept during and after the time I experienced postpartum depression. When I wrote this entry I was feeling better, but I still found myself needing lots of time to reflect on the experience and process what had happened. I felt haunted by it at times.
5/25/96 […]

Dr. Shoshana Bennett is a licensed psychologist who founded Postpartum Assistance for Mothers in 1987 after her second undiagnosed postpartum illness. She is also the author of Postpartum Depression for Dummies and Beyond The Blues.
Last Monday, the 14th, she was a guest on the TV morning show The View From The Bay. In […]

11/30/95
Today is a good day. Getting a good night’s sleep makes a world of difference, although we did get woken up by our neighbors fighting out on the sidewalk at five a.m.! I couldn’t believe it. We’ve lived here almost a year and never hear a peep out of them, then that […]

12/4/95:
The kids are hitting a raw nerve today. I just have no patience. I feel so guilty because I’m not into the stay-at-home mom thing. Am I a terrible person? I know there are people who would give anything to do this, but, then I wonder - if they actually did […]

Dear Readers,
I recently came across some pages I had written when I was in the worst of my postpartum depression. The entry is dated 11/29/95 when my daughters were 3 (Danielle) and 6 months (Linda). It’s still painful for me to read these words, but I’m hoping sharing them will help any of […]

Today we’re continuing our discussion about the benefits to you of joining a pregnancy or postpartum support group.
Our guest is licensed clinical psychologist, Dana Paskowitz, Ph.D., who runs support groups and has a special interest in working with women around issues of pregnancy, postpartum adjustment, and parenting. To see Part 1 of […]

Next Wedneday, August 15th, I will be the guest host for a chat sponsored by Mothering Magazine. The chat time will be: 10 a.m. Pacific, 11 a.m. Mountain, 12 p.m. Central, and 1 p.m. Eastern.
We will be chatting about motherhood and, in particular, the postpartum year. Go here to find out […]

On May 26th, the Los Angeles Times ran an article about the increased risk of postpartum depression (PPD) for military wives. Their risk is almost three times that of other women.
There was one mistake that I noted in the article. You can find it below in an abridged version of […]

Another big gold star to actress Brooke Shields. She is working again to help new mothers by encouraging Congress to pass the MOTHERS Act Bill. The letters in MOTHERS stand for: Mom’s Opportunity To Access Help, Education, Research, and Support for Postpartum Depression Act.
Last Friday Shields spoke to Congress about the bill. […]

A study cited in last August’s issue of the journal Pediatrics found that 10% of new dads were suffering from depression.
“Postpartum depression in fathers was strikingly high and more than twice as common than in the general adult male population in the U.S.,” write researchers including James F. Paulson, Ph.D., of the Center for […]