Breastfeeding

Developing Depression After Weaning From Breastfeeding

By Katherine Stone February 23, 2012

Over the years, I have heard from many women whose postpartum experiences were just fine until they stopped breastfeeding. It is rare, however, for me to find any research on the topic of depression after weaning, or a personal story about it. So I was happy to see this story from the blog A Cup of Jo, written by Joanna Goddard, about the depression she experienced at 8 months postpartum after weaning.

Here’s a bit of her story after she realized why she was suffering:

In late January, I had decided to wean Toby from breastfeeding for a number of reasons, so I quite abruptly weaned him within a week. But instead of feeling liberated, I began feeling tired and sad and went into a downward spiral. The timing of the beginning of my depression (weaning Toby) and the end of my depression (getting my period again) lined up perfectly.

I hate that she was only able to find a few stories on this, because you know we like to cover all issues related to depression and anxiety and pregnancy and childbirth here on Postpartum Progress. So, if you experienced weaning after depression, send me your story and we may be able to feature it here. Let’s make sure the moms who go through this have the information they need and don’t feel alone.

February 23, 2012 10:30 am Filed Under: Breastfeeding

Which Psychiatric Medications Are Safe During Breastfeeding?

By Katherine Stone October 12, 2011

I’m often asked by mothers who want to breastfeed about which psychiatric medication is safe.

First, I want you to know that it is a myth that you must quit breastfeeding if you are going to be treated for postpartum depression. I’m always saddened to hear of moms who refuse to seek treatment because they are afraid they will be made to quit, or whose doctors tell them they must because they’ll be on medication. That’s just not true.

Certainly, if you feel that it is better for you to formula feed that is a perfectly acceptable choice. Also, therapy alone is a good option for some mothers. If you need to take medication, though, you still don’t have to quit. There are certain medications that have been fairly well studied and, according to the MGH Center for Women’s Mental Health, are “… considered to be relatively safe for use during breastfeeding when clinically warranted …”

I wanted to offer you some resources for those of you who plan to breastfeed but must also take an antidepressant or other psychiatric medication for the treatment of your postpartum depression or related illness: [Read more...]

October 12, 2011 11:14 am Filed Under: Breastfeeding, Postpartum Depression

“Toughing It Out” With Postpartum Depression To Breastfeed: An Expert Weighs In

By Katherine Stone March 24, 2011

I’d say by the looks of it that this week’s earlier post “Should This Mom Tough It Out With PPD So She Can Breastfeed Her Baby?” was a hot topic. I knew it would be, since this breastfeeding during postpartum depression is an issue that so many of us struggle with. Still, 83 comments is quite a lot for this little website!

I was happy to see that the comments were generally very respectful. At the same time, I know that the perspectives offered were mostly by moms and survivors. I wanted to make sure that I got professional input as well, so I went to one of my very favorite resources.

Dr. Marlene Freeman is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the Director of Clinical Services for the MGH Center for Women’s Mental Health. (She is also a board member of Postpartum Progress the non-profit, which is awesome.) She is a respected expert on perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and was kind enough to offer her input on the situation of the pregnant mom who previously had postpartum anxiety and worries about whether she should breastfeed this time:

“Every woman suffering from postpartum depression or anxiety is unique, as well as her treatment preferences. Her decisions may be different than another woman’s decisions, even under similar circumstances. There is a reasonable list of treatment options for perinatal depression and anxiety that can be individualized, but suffering and pursuing treatments that are unlikely to work are not on the list.

For many women, treatment includes medication. In the risk/benefit analysis regarding medication used in breastfeeding (or during pregnancy), it makes no sense to have exposure to a medication that doesn’t work for that woman. If a particular medication or combination of medications has worked best in the past, a woman can spare herself medication trials and a longer duration of suffering by considering that regimen first (or at least near the top of the list).

Here are my own thoughts about breastfeeding, medication, and postpartum mood and anxiety disorders like postpartum depression:

1) The mother’s wellness is more important than feeding method. Decades of research demonstrate the negative consequences of maternal depression for the mother and baby. It is absolutely true that breastfeeding has great nutritional value, but it is not more important than the mother’s health and ability to bond with her baby and function.

2) Some medications are better studied than others in the context of breastfeeding. When there are unknowns involved, it is especially important for a woman to make collaborative treatment decisions with her health care providers.

3) When a medication has not received extensive study in breastfeeding, choices can be difficult. For some women, the benefits and experience of breastfeeding make some unknowns about medication acceptable in breastfeeding. For other women, they might select to formula feed rather than breastfeed on a medication with limited information. Some women may choose a combination of breastfeeding and formula feeding.

4) For some women, breastfeeding is difficult and stressful. It is important to remember that adding distress in a situation in which a woman is at risk carries its own consequences. If breastfeeding adds to a woman’s depressive or anxious symptoms, it is reasonable to stop. Sometimes it is necessary to stop.

5) Remember that your identity as a mother is far greater than if and how long you breastfed your baby.

6) There is something about pregnant women and women holding babies that makes a large segment of our population think they can say anything they want. No matter what you do, someone will have an opinion and tell you about it. Try and remember that you are making the best decisions for yourself and your baby, and intrusive judgmental comments from others are ignorant.

7) Breastfeeding exclusively from the breast means that no one else can feed the baby except the mother. For women suffering from mood and/or anxiety disorders, having breaks for sleep and self-care are essential. Please seriously consider giving bottles of either pumped breast milk or formula so that others can support you in caring for your baby.

These can be difficult decisions. I am grateful to have colleagues with whom I can discuss these issues. Please see our website for more information.”

Photo: Fotolia - © Vladislav Gansovsky

March 24, 2011 9:30 am Filed Under: Breastfeeding

Should This Mom “Tough It Out” With Postpartum Anxiety To Breastfeed Her New Baby?

By Katherine Stone March 21, 2011

Okay Warrior Moms, this pregnant mom and postpartum anxiety survivor wants to know whether she should skip treatment for the second time so she can breastfeed her baby. Please share your thoughts via the comment section.

My second baby is due to arrive fairly soon (scheduled c-section). I had severe postpartum anxiety and moderate postpartum OCD after my child’s birth three years ago even though my first pregnancy was a happy, blissful time and extremely easy.

I haven’t been on any medication during this pregnancy, and it’s been much tougher than the first. I’ve had a lot of anxiety and difficulty sleeping throughout. And there has been a lot of external stress too. We bought a new house and my husband lost his job. Not long after that, we found out I was pregnant. (We wanted a second baby, but I’d immediately declared when he lost his job that we should stop trying. It turns out that I was already pregnant– proving God has a fun sense of humor.) For someone who ls naturally anxious even when I’m on medication, these changes were big triggers for me.

I’ve felt myself getting worse and worse as my due date approached, and I made an appointment with my psychiatrist. When I met with her on Friday, she immediately saw that I was suffering from anxiety and depression. She recommended that I go back on medication immediately after the new baby’s birth to prevent a repeat of the postpartum anxiety and OCD I had last time. But the problem is that the mix of drugs that worked for me last time are not safe for breastfeeding.

After my first child’s birth I took a medication that was considered safe for breastfeeding. It helped me function, but I didn’t start feeling better until I stopped breastfeeding at 3 months and switched to a different medication. It took about a year of working with my psychiatrist to find what worked the best.Now I have to decide if I want to start with the “safe” medication again and attempt to breastfeed this new baby or start with the mix that worked after much trial and error last time even if it means putting the baby on formula immediately. I’m conflicted because I really truly hated breastfeeding last time but also want to do what’s best for the baby. And I’m also not ready to deal with the criticism mothers face for formula-feeding.

Last time, I took off six months from work, so I was able to survive the sleep deprivation and demands of breastfeeding for the first three months even though I hated every moment of it. This time, I’m not able to take off time since I’m running my own business and have clients and other demands, but will have help from my husband and a nanny.

Still I’m not sure I can put the baby on formula from day one even if it’s to take medication that helps me. I live in an area that is dominated by breastfeeding mommies. I got crap last time for quitting breastfeeding and switching to formula at three months, and I’m already hearing judgmental comments from the mommies about how I’m going back to work nearly immediately. These women often say things to me like “I don’t know how you do it” in reference to my work. I feel like they are questioning my ability as a mother when they make “how do you do it” comments because they follow-up by telling me how busy they are being a mom. The implication is that I “do it” by neglecting my responsibilities as a mother.

I’m too polite to tell them that my not-quite 3 year old is quite healthy and happy. Heck…he’s already potty-trained and reading and even says please and thank you consistently and plays so nicely with other kids. He even helps clean-up his toys. And he’s loving and has a great sense of humor. Clearly I’m doing something right.

But I just don’t know if I can deal with the comments and the negativity from just about everyone I know (with the exception of my own parents, mother-in-law and husband) for not breastfeeding at all. At least last time, I was able to say that I stopped breastfeeding due to mastitis, and that shut up most (but not all) of them. But if I never nurse, I’ll face a lot of criticism both behind my back and to my face. I’m not exactly open with people about postpartum anxiety/OCD, and I look happy and healthy to people that know me. They’ll probably speculate that I’m one of those mothers who formula feeds because she’s so career obsessed and wants the nanny to parent her child.

I’m just not sure if I can deal with the hurtful comments, and I don’t want to tell anyone that I’m not breastfeeding because I need medication. Most of all, I’m resentful that moms have to justify formula-feeding and that “breast is best” messaging makes total strangers feel empowered to shoot you dirty looks in the park if you pull out a bottle.

The best thing for me would be to formula-feed and take the more effective medication, but I’m holding a prescription for the “safe” med right now and feel the pressure to “tough it out” for my baby. I know that med will help me function, but I do worry that I’m delaying feeling completely better by not taking the more effective (for me) meds immediately. And I’ve already had a tough time this whole pregnancy because I chose to do it without any medicine since I was too worried about harm to the baby. I’m ready to feel happy again, but I think the constant criticism about formula would be just as harmful to recovery as taking a less-effective medicine.

So how do other moms with postpartum depression justify their decision to formula feed from birth if they do not feel comfortable disclosing that they have a medical reason? I don’t exactly want to share my mental health issues with friends and acquaintances. But would anything else shut them up? Even my friend’s husbands are big breastfeeding advocates and say things like “I’m so glad my wife quit her job as a partner at a major law firm because breastfeeding is such a big accomplishment and sacrifice. Isn’t she so amazing? I wouldn’t want to be with someone who would put their interests above the health and well-being of our baby.” (They haven’t used those exact words, but it’s an accurate summary of the conversation.)

What do you think, ladies?

For more resources, try Which Psychiatric Medications Are Safe During Breastfeeding?

March 21, 2011 10:12 am Filed Under: Breastfeeding, Depression and Pregnancy

Letting Go of the Guilt About Not Breastfeeding During Postpartum Depression

By Katherine Stone October 11, 2010

In 2008, Lisa Sniderman wrote a compelling piece for Postpartum Progress about how she quit her bipolar medications so that she could breastfeed after the birth of her daughter, and ended up being hospitalized for severe postpartum depression. She wrote about what a painful decision it was for her to stop breastfeeding so that she could get the care she needed. Lisa has recently had another baby and is sharing with us how, this time, she let go of her guilt about not being able to breastfeed.

I’m a postpartum depression survivor who braved it and had another kid. Along the way, I even survived two years of fertility treatment and three miscarriages. And guess what? NO depression this time around. I am deliriously in love with my kids and my life. Turns out newborns are enchanting. Who knew? The first time around, I was too consumed with postpartum depression and guilt to notice. Now my stomach does giddy flip-flops whenever I cuddle my son. I could do without the sleep deprivation and 20 extra pounds, and I wish a trip to Costco didn’t take all day, but I’m able to take these things in stride. That amazes me.

I don’t attribute this outcome to dumb luck. We went into pregnancy #2 with a solid plan. I stayed on my full dose of antidepressant throughout the pregnancy, and started on a mood stabilizer immediately after giving birth. As a result, I bottle-fed my son from the beginning and never looked back. I made this decision peacefully before I even got pregnant this time, even though I strongly support breastfeeding in general. I did my best over the years to find other treatment options, and they just didn’t work for me. As I watched my first baby become a toddler, then a highly verbal preschooler, I discovered that it is a mother’s guilt– far more than her chosen feeding method– which presents the true barrier to emotional bonding. Once I resolved that guilt, I began to mother my child from my heart, if not from my breasts. It would have been nice not to have to choose between the two, but I made the right choice.

In fact, I’d venture to say that getting effective treatment for serious mental illness is always the right choice. For the baby as well as the mom.

Four years ago I was locked into a recursive loop of self-hate that left me unable to respond to my baby. Medication and therapy helped unlock the loop and reclaim my maternal wisdom and instincts. Getting my own needs met has enabled me to gladly and willingly make sacrifices for my children, instead of experiencing those sacrifices as misery and depletion. For example, in January I used up all my vacation time to help my daughter with a potty-training “immersion” program for kids with bowel conditions. We stayed at home and practiced over and over again for three weeks. Some days we both fell asleep after dinner, totally exhausted, and started again at dawn. I never once yelled or showed impatience — I provided the supportive presence she needed to work through the challenge. When she finally got the hang of it, I was so proud of us both that I cried. My therapist remarked, “This was your version of the breastfeeding experience.” She was right!

It really bugs me that our culture tends to view a mother’s self-care and mental health as some sort of luxury, when in fact true selflessness cannot occur in their absence. You have to possess a whole self in order to set it aside. In the throes of PPD, struggling to make a decision about my meds, I thought comments such as, “A happy mom means a happy baby,” and, “You have to put on your own oxygen mask first” were just well-intentioned platitudes. Four years later, I see how profound these statements really are. My daughter doesn’t stay up nights wondering why she wasn’t breastfed, but she sure notices when I am emotionally unavailable. My infant son can already tell the difference between a forced smile and a genuine one, between a feeding that is rushed and one that is attuned. Kids are amazingly perceptive that way. They learn how to regard themselves and their world by watching our faces and witnessing our actions. What we say doesn’t matter much if we’re hypocrites about it.

I still do feel sad at the loss of the breastfeeding relationship. But sadness is different than guilt. It’s a productive emotion that can be worked through. It doesn’t paralyze me. While I support a pro-breastfeeding culture, I don’t see anything positive about creating guilt in women who fail at breastfeeding, for whatever reason. This guilt is unproductive, and can be very disabling. I know that breastfeeding– when it works out– is an incomparable gift to both mom and baby, something that is worth a lot of sacrifice and time. However, a mother’s mental health is not an acceptable sacrifice, and that’s where a lot of depressed women get confused and stuck. It’s not hard to understand why.

In our society, “breast versus bottle” can be shorthand for “mother versus mother.” Breastfeeding has become an issue of individual morality, not just a policy and public-health concern, and I think that’s a mistake. Total strangers malign each other’s character, both in the media and in real life. No matter what a mother does, she can be sure someone will disapprove. Added to this, of course, is all the stigma and misunderstanding that surround postpartum mental illness. The fallout from this combined storm is the private suffering of individual mothers. If you are suffering with postpartum mental illness, I hope my words give you the courage to make the best treatment decision for yourself, whether or not it involves exclusive breastfeeding. Each mother is the expert on her own subjective experience, and she is the one who has to live it. Once I recognized this truth for myself, I stopped caring so much what other people think.

I know in my gut that my kids are lucky to have me as their mom. At its core, parent-child attachment is based on the parent’s responsiveness to the child’s needs, respect for their unique personhood, and ability to assume their point of view. Because my mothering has these qualities, I consider myself an attachment parent even though I bottle-feed. (Heck, I still use a sling and cloth diapers, because for me it isn’t all-or-nothing. I do what I can, and I don’t do what I can’t.) I am in love with being a mother. For me, that begins and ends with taking care of my mental health. Oops, I hear my son beginning to cry, so I’m going to hold him close as I feed him a bottle. What a wonderful experience for us both!

Photo credit: © onoky – Fotolia

October 11, 2010 9:44 am Filed Under: Breastfeeding, Postpartum Depression

20 Things I NEVER Want To Hear Or Read Again, Postpartum Depression Edition

By Katherine Stone September 14, 2010

Here are 20 things I don’t ever want to hear or read again about postpartum depression, and every other perinatal mood or anxiety disorder. (I have heard every single one of these, whether directed at me personally or in emails and comments from Postpartum Progress Readers who share their own stories with me.):

20 Things I NEVER Want to Hear or Read Again, Postpartum Depression Edition

1. Just [go for a walk/go out with your friends/have a drink] and you’ll feel all better.

2. If you just buy this book online, even though we don’t tell you what’s in it, you’ll learn the “cure” for postpartum depression.

3. In a news report on infanticide or any other child murder: She must have had postpartum depression.

4. Magazine or online article headline: 10 Easy Steps To Get Over PPD Now! (None of them will mention, of course, that getting over postpartum depression is not easy, and none of them will mention getting medical help.)

5. Women have been having babies for tens of thousands of years, and they got through new motherhood just fine. Toughen up.

6. I just finished my

Six-Word Memoirs of Postpartum Depression & Anxiety

14 Photos

Six Things You Should Avoid

. This must be what postpartum depression feels like.

7. Maybe postpartum depression is God’s way of letting you know you don’t have enough faith. I think you should pray harder.

8. Here’s some information on postpartum depression I’m supposed to give you. You’re probably not going to get it, though, so I wouldn’t pay too much attention to it.

9. Quitting breastfeeding is selfish. The baby’s health is so much more important than yours.

10. I know breastfeeding is really important to you, but you have to quit so you can be treated for PPD.

11. This is the exact medication and dosage I took for my PPD. Just take that and you’ll be OK.

12.I would never take antidepressants. You shouldn’t need that stuff to be a mother.

13. Here’s a prescription.(No mention of side effects. No mention that it may not work. No mention of therapy. No mention of follow up appointments.)

14. You’re just mad the baby is getting all the attention.

15. PPD is just a fad. Only spoiled, Western women get it, and now that it’s “popular” on the blogs, everyone is jumping on the bandwagon.

16. Can’t you see how lucky you are? You have a beautiful baby!

17.This will probably go away on it’s own, so don’t worry about it.

18. I wouldn’t talk about this with anyone. You don’t want them to think you’re crazy.

19. You don’t need to worry about your symptoms unless you’re having thoughts of harming your baby.

20. Postpartum depression isn’t real.

What would you add to this list? Put them in the comments section below!

Photo credit: © Scott Griessel – Fotolia.com

September 14, 2010 8:06 am Filed Under: Breastfeeding, Postpartum Depression, Stigma

Announcing The New Regular Contributor to Postpartum Progress …

By Katherine Stone August 17, 2010

In the past I've invited a person or two to become a regular contributor here at PP, but so many are already so busy with their own websites and jobs and children and whatnot, which I totally understand. I figured Postpartum Progress would someday grow beyond just little ole me writing here, but I have to admit I was afraid of trusting someone else with my third baby. (The other two are humans.) And then I heard from Alexis, and I knew the time had come. So, meet the wonderful Warrior Mom Alexis Lesa from the blog depressionsandconfessions. I am so pleased that she is joining me, and will be writing heretwice a week to help support women who are suffering or have suffered. PLEASE welcome her!!!!!

My first son's birth was nothing short of miraculous, just as every birth should be. The labor was long and intense, and the process wasn't without its frightening moments, but at the end I cradled my baby on my chest and cried tears of wonder. I had never felt love so transformative; in that moment, I went from Alexis-and-that's-all to Alexis-mom.

In hindsight, I thank God I was able to appreciate that moment of pure love, because the motherhood experience I had ahead of me was anything but miraculous.

The first few weeks of my son's life were par for the parenting course: sleepless nights, endless feedings, and a whole lot of cuddling and staring into my newborn's eyes. Life was hectic and full of novel experiences, and I felt exuberant, almost manically so. I stayed up late at night with my son and woke early, yet still found time for lunches with my new-mom friends, frequent walks in the park, and top-to-bottom cleanings of my house. Several people mentioned I hadn't missed a step after having a baby, and that made me immeasurably proud.

The only thorn in my side was breastfeeding. My son latched improperly from the get-go, and all the correcting in the world didn't help him until the day he just magically started doing it properly on his own (he takes after his dad with that stubbornness). By then he was more than a month old, and I'd been through a laundry list of breastfeeding complications. Every time he nursed had been agony, and I remember weeping disconsolately at the sound of his whimpers in the middle of the night. I was terrified of a 12-pound lump of mewling babyflesh.

Around the the time he was six weeks old, we'd finally worked out the feeding kinks, but a resentment had set in, one so deep that I didn't even realize it was there. On the surface I was thrilled with my new life as a mother, but within was a tangled mass of anger, frustration and desperation to return to life as it had been. The most difficult part of all this was that I was still so in love with my son, but I simultaneously wanted to run screaming: "confused" doesn't begin to describe my state at the time.

The following five months are a bit of a blur, to be honest. I know that I was happy in certain ways, but in others I was completely lost. I loved being a mother, but missed being a woman. I was running myself ragged, not getting enough sleep and filling my days with activities until I finally got to the point where I never wanted to leave the house at all.

The one thing I do remember very clearly is that my relationship with my husband was just not right. We'd always had a very solid marriage built on constant communication, but I found myself keeping the feelings of discontent to myself, fearing he'd think me an unfit mother. In addition, my mood swings were completely out of control — one moment I'd laugh hysterically, and the next I'd be in a screaming rage,and the next I'd be a sobbing mess. It was a little frightening, both to me and my husband.

However, I didn't come to the conclusion that something was really wrong with me until the day I hit bottom, which I wrote about at my blog depressionsandconfessions. I'd always had a big personality, and I attributed the mood swings to that personality being magnified by the stress of motherhood. But the thoughts of suicide scared me so much that I immediately sought help.

After receiving a PPD diagnosis and seeking treatment, I told my friends and family what was going on in my life and what I was doing about it. They were all shocked. Not even one person had suspected that I was suffering, and people said things like, "You don't even seem sad," and that perturbed me to no end. The people in my life had no idea what postpartum depression could look like.

I thought to myself, What if there are other women like me? What if someone I'm close to is dealing with what I was going through, and I'm completely clueless? What if she's too scared to come forward because their families aren't as understanding as mine has been?I couldn't bear the thought, so I started to blog, hoping I could shed even a little light on PPD. I have found an online family that supported me through another bout of PPD with my second son, cheered for me when I went back on antidepressants, even if they didn't agree with my methods, and gives me courage to keep on talking about PPD, no matter what the cost.

I felt like I'd hit the jackpot when I received an email from Katherine in April of this year, asking me if I would be willing to write a letter for her Mother's Day Rally for Moms' Mental Health. I was so honored to speak out for other mothers like me, especially at Postpartum Progress, which I use as a valuable resource. Then I met Katherine at BlogHer, and I was struck by her grace and openness.

I am so flattered that she agreed to let me write for her site, and I only hope I can contribute something of worth to the awesomeness she has going on here. My wish is that I'll add yet another voice to the chorus of moms with PPD/PPA/PPOCD/PPP, and that one day we will be so loud that every mother who suffers will hear us and know she's not alone.

August 17, 2010 9:27 am Filed Under: Breastfeeding, Postpartum Depression, Warrior Moms

Breastfeeding & Postpartum Depression: Fresh Debate on Nighttime Feeding

By Katherine Stone August 3, 2010

We've talked quite a few times about breastfeeding here, only because it's such aBIGHONKINGMAJOR issue for those of us who suffer from perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.

Do I breastfeed or don't I? How will the baby be affected by the medication if I take it as part of my treatment? I'm having a hard time breastfeeding and want to quit, but will I be a failure if I do? Etc. Etc.

You know the drill.

Then I saw this yesterday on Science & Sensibility, the Lamaze International blog. It was written by guest blogger Kathleen Kendall-Tackett.

"There is a movement afoot in childbirth education and perinatal health urging mothers to avoid nighttime breastfeeding to decrease their risk for postpartum depression."

Really? I would say that there probably aren'ttoo manypeople who watch the postpartum depression community as closely as I do, and I haven't seen that "movement". I haven't seen anybody "urging" anything. What I have seen is people being more open-minded about a new mother's choice, and being more concerned about making sure that both mother and baby are healthy, not just baby.

I don't know Ms. Kendall-Tackett personally, but we have spoken via email before, and I do know she cares a lot about women with PPD. I have respect for her. I also know she cares a lot about breastfeeding, and I wonder if that colored herpost and its conclusions just a tiny bit.

The article shares some studies that found breastfeeding mothers got more sleep than those who were bottle-feeding. Well, that actually makes sense. But I don't see what it has to do with postpartum depression. Did the mothers in all of those studies have PPD? Did they look at whether mothers who had fathers doing the bottle-feeding during the night got more sleep? I just don't see how the conclusions are exactly clear here. Kendall-Tackett does, though:

"In sum, advising women to avoid nighttime breastfeeding to lessen their risk of depression is not medically sound. In fact, if women follow this advice, it may actually increase their risk of depression."

I'm not a doctor, so maybe I don't get it. I reached out to several experts I know in the field of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and asked them to take a look at the article, and to my relief, they didn't get it either. One told me of another study that found that women at high-risk for PPD who were kept in the hospital longer and whose babies were sent to the nursery at night developed less PPD than the control group.

I will quote another, without using this person's name since I didn't ask for permission:

" … the treatment of postpartum mood or anxiety disorders is highly individualized, including whether to breastfeed or not. Blanket pronouncements that one way is best, as suggested in this article, are not helpful, and likely contribute to the guilt/shame/stigma many womenfeel when they choose not to breastfeed."

That was my reaction as well. Perhaps it's because I know for a fact that I got more sleep when I stopped breastfeeding and went to a sleep management plan with my husband that included bottle-feeding. Other women though, find that breastfeeding is CRUCIAL for them and is the only thing that gives them comfort when they're going through PPD. That's great. Whatever works.

I know that breastmilk is better. I know that. I'm not stupid. I know God gave me these "golden bozos" for a specific reason and I didn't use them as indicated. If I could have breastfed successfully and hadn't been so screwed up with postpartum OCD, I would have. Really. I also know that my formula-fed son is in the Gifted program at school and is also the healthiest kid I have EVER met. EVER. So what can I say?

Couldn't we all simply agree that the best approach is for the mother and doctor to look closely at her history, her illness, her family situation andany other important factors,and then decide what is best?

Click here for more on the topic of breastfeeding and postpartum depression & anxiety.

August 3, 2010 11:51 am Filed Under: Breastfeeding, Postpartum Depression

Moms Weigh In On Breastfeeding Problems & Postpartum Depression

By Katherine Stone July 28, 2010

Some fellow Warrior Moms have been exploring two topics recently that are very top of mind for women who have perinatal mood and anxiety disorders: breastfeeding and the issue of whether to have another child after postpartum depression.

Alexis Lesa at depressionsandconfessions wrote about the whole tired, annoying breastfeeding versus bottle thing. As many of you know, I formula fed because I had so much trouble and anxiety around breastfeeding and because I was on meds. I REALLY do not have patience with anyone who wants to try and make me feel bad about that. Neither does Alexis.

“i won’t try to make you use disposable diapers or roll my eyes because you use cloth, and you don’t eviscerate me for giving my kids formula. i think that’s a good compromise. if you have an opinion about something, fine, preach it. that’s what blogging is all about, making your opinions known. but try not to make me out to be a devil-worshipping serial killer for choosing a lifestyle you disagree with. i love my kids with a fierceness i’m sure you understand, because you love your kids like that, too.”

Jeanne Sager at Cafe Mom’s The Stir blog also writes about how breastfeeding affected her:

I wanted to breastfeed. I needed to breastfeed. Raised by a breastfeeding mother, having read every study and book out there, I was hellbent on giving my baby the very best start in life.

And two weeks into it, I was still not getting it right. I was following what I now know was bad advice in the hospital — studies have now shown just how poorly educated maternity ward nurses are on the whole about breastfeeding — getting up every two hours to wake my baby to eat, and every other hour to pump to up my production.

Like Howard, I was getting no sleep because there was no time.

And so I sunk into the numbness that is postpartum depression.

I refused to leave my house except for my daughter’s follow-up visit to the pediatrician and my follow-up visit to the OB/GYN.

This is why the breastfeeding wars bother me. Because the power of breast milk is real. But so too is the power of helplessness.”

Me too, Jeanne! ME TOO!

Leigh at Cinderella’s Closet writes about thinking about having another baby 3 years after having gone through postpartum depression.

It’s been THREE years. What if, I wait and wait, wanting to feel ready, and it just never happens, I never do feel ready? What then? I don’t want to plan my whole life around this depression. That thought alone makes me depressed. I want to live, I want to continue on with my life and let the past be past. But it is SO hard. So very hard.

Do we ever feel exactly ready? I remember my mom telling me there is no such thing as the “exact right time” to have a baby. She was right. That doesn’t make it any easier to make the decision. In my case the decision was made for me. I got pregnant unexpectedly and I decided to just trust God that I was meant to have this second baby even though I was terrified of having postpartum OCD again. Now I have Madden, who is such a light in my life.

Grace at Arms Wide Open had a guest blogger on this topic as well. Amanda from the Lungos writes about how she made the decision and what her experience was the second time around.

AHZ29HYD6W3E

July 28, 2010 1:31 pm Filed Under: Breastfeeding, Warrior Moms

For Breastfeeding Moms with Bipolar Disorder: Info On Lithium & Lamictal

By Katherine Stone May 13, 2010

The Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Women's Mental Health has done two stories recently that will be helpful for breastfeeding moms on medication, particularly those with bipolar disorder. Check them out:

What's Safer for Breastfeeding? Lithium or Lamotrigine(Lamictal)

Lithium and Breastfeeding

Lamotrigine and Breastfeeding: An Update

May 13, 2010 7:38 am Filed Under: Breastfeeding