During week’s Facebook Live chat with Katherine, we talked about everything from the decision to have another baby to medication during pregnancy to what a mom should do to find care if she doesn’t have insurance.
Watch for yourself.
Here are all of the links we shared during the broadcast:
- To Have a Child or Not: Should You Stop Having Children If You’ve Had Postpartum Depression?
- How to Get Help if You Have Postpartum Depression and No Insurance
- The Unsupportive Partner During Postpartum Depression
- Bipolar Mom Shares Story of Having Second Child After Postpartum Psychosis
- 7 Postpartum Depression Survivors Share Their Stories of Having More Children
- The Blurred Lines Between Postpartum Depression and Grief
- How to Decide Whether to Take Meds for Depression or Anxiety During Pregnancy
- Weighing the Risks of Treating Antenatal Depression
- Tools for Moms with Postpartum Depression
- Partnership for Prescription Assistance
- Postpartum Depression Support Groups in the US and Canada
- Climb Out of the Darkness: Find a Climb!
- MothertoBaby.org
- Postpartum Depression Treatment Programs and Specialists in the US, Canada, and Australia
- Become a Warrior Mom Ambassador
We started off on the topic of having another baby as that’s where we got cut off last week when our hour ran out. We acknowledge that not all moms who have experienced PPD need or have to have other children. Those moms’ voices and experiences are valid and we encourage the sharing of those stories because there are other moms who don’t want more children and need to feel less alone. Katherine shared her story of having another child while others shared their experiences in the comments.
The discussion morphed into the topic of taking medication while pregnant, which a few in the chat didn’t even know was a possibility. It IS. If your doctor tells you no, get another opinion. There are safe medications and safe ways to take medication during pregnancy, but you do need to speak with doctors who know what they’re doing. Additionally, you can do other things, like attend therapy, while pregnant to either help medication or to avoid it.
At one point we were discussing advocating for yourself and the care that you need. Katherine said to “be selfish.”
What we mean by that is that it’s not selfish to ask for help, to seek help, to take some time out of every single day for you. It’s necessary. It just feels selfish because for too long we’ve been taught we need to be good, quiet, not create a ruckus. Nope. Be selfish. Do what you need for you to get better. You deserve to feel better, to be better.
We talked about Climb Out of the Darkness for a little bit. It’s the largest event in the world promoting awareness about postpartum mood and anxiety disorders. There’s still time to register OR form your own team. Find a team today! We also discussed that nervous/anxious feeling some (many!) get about attending their first (or fifth) Climb. It’s normal. It’s okay. Just show up and be you. The connection you’ll feel with other Warrior Moms is amazing!
We then opened it up to questions. We received a personal message question about what to do if you don’t have insurance. Katherine listed off a number of things you can do, including asking the doctor if they have a sliding scale, while others listed a bunch of other resources in the comments. Warrior Moms looking out for Warrior Moms.
We’ll be back Live on Facebook next Wednesday at noon. If you have questions, please let us know!
