Pregnancy and the postpartum period can be a time of excitement and joy and a time of stress, fatigue, and overwhelm. For many parents, postpartum depression and anxiety can make the early months of parenting a new child more challenging. With 1 in 5 new mothers and 1 in 10 new fathers struggling with postpartum depression or anxiety, this is one of the most common birth complications. The good news is that there are many things you can do to prevent or cope with postpartum mental health challenges.

 

Psychologist Gabrielle Mauren, PhD, and psychiatrist Michelle Wiersgalla, MD, join Marti and Erin to discuss their new book, Myself again: The PARENTS Postpartum Survival Guide. Learn tips for coping during the early months of parenting an infant. Whether or not you are experiencing anxiety, depression, or the baby blues, Mauren & Wiersgalla outline their approach to staying healthy throughout the postpartum period. They also discuss what to do if you are struggling. Whether you are becoming a parent for the first time or giving birth to or adopting a subsequent child, you won't want to miss this Mom Enough episode.

 

WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT THE POSTPARTUM PERIOD IN THIS EPISODE?

Which of the PARENTS method approaches are you most likely to implement? How might you begin to practice patience? What might you do to get more rest and sleep? Who in your community can you enlist as part of your support network?

 

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT POSTPARTUM MENTAL HEALTH?

❉ MYSELF AGAIN: THE PARENTS POSTPARTUM SURVIVAL GUIDE. Get Gabrielle Mauren & Michelle Wiersgalla's book to learn more about the PARENTS method and practical strategies for self-care to help you get back to feeling like yourself again.

 

CONFRONTING THE STIGMA OF MATERNAL DEPRESSION: AMY KOPPELMAN ON “A MOUTHFUL OF AIR.” As a young mom, Amy Koppelman struggled with severe postpartum depression, haunted by dark thoughts of what she might do to herself or her child. One unusual part of her recovery was writing a novel about a struggling mom who lived out Amy’s worst fears. Now, 20 years later, that critically-acclaimed novel, A Mouthful of Air, has been re-published and Amy also is screenwriter and director of a new feature-length film by the same name, starring Academy Award-winning actress Amanda Seyfried. Don’t miss this unique and important conversation about an issue so many individuals and families confront!

 

❉ THE PSYCHOLOGY OF EXERCISE: A DISCUSSION ON THE MENTAL HEALTH BENEFITS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. You know how essential regular exercise is for a healthy heart and strong body. Did you know that exercise and mental health are also closely linked? Discovering the energy and positive mood that exercise provides can be a powerful motivator to make exercise a habit. Dr. Beth Lewis discusses ways to stick to an exercise program, how to help your children make exercise a regular part of their routine and how much exercise we need in order to reap optimal benefits for our physical and mental health.