Lots of TV shows did stories last week (was it last week?) when the news came out about Andrea Yates. I happened to be at the gym when I saw NBC’s “The Today Show” interviewing Dr. Valerie Raskin. The interviewer asked her if women with “regular” PPD ever have thoughts of harming their children. Raskin said “Never”, implying that only women with PPP have such thoughts. I was so upset I had to leave the gym. Now I realize this was a quick interview, and Raskin may not have had the opportunity to explain herself, but what came out was just not accurate in my experience. It is not true that only women with Postpartum Psychosis have thoughts of harming their children. I didn’t have PPP, and I had intrusive thoughts. Now I’m worried that women who may have seen that story and may be having intrusive thoughts are going to think that they’ll come to the same end as Andrea Yates. What if, God forbid, a woman harms herself because she doesn’t realize she may simply have Postpartum Obssessive-Compulsive Disorder, which can be treated fairly easily and doesn’t cause you to have to be committed to a psychiatric institution?
Never Say Never
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I wholeheartedly agree with you! Not only do women suffering from PPD (not PPP) experience intrusive thoughts, but according to Dr. Pec Indman there is no evidence that anyone suffering from intrusive thoughts as a part of postpartum depression has ever acted on those thoughts. Dr. Indman says the difference is women with intrusive thoughts during postpartum depression are horrified by those thoughts and do not act on them; women suffering from postpartum psychosis, however, not only act on them but feel that type of thinking is totally rational.
Professionals need to be so, so cautious when making public statements! Wish there were some way to "unring the bell", but all I know to do is keep on keeping on, trying to reach as many folks as possible with accurate information regarding PPD and PPP. Hang in there. =)
I'm with both of you – anyone else?
It is the various differing educational backgrounds among those "professionals" in the postpartum field that will keep any true progress from being seen in our lifetime. Our goal, as women and mothers, should be to let our voices be heard as medical consumers and sound a battle cry loud enough to be heard around the world!
We can take our lead from Nancy Brinker who with many supporting organizations today has pushed for research through the Komen Foundation, and there a positive difference has been seen in how society looks at and talks about breast cancer today. During this past week, my daughter and I found a lot more postpartum research than I realized existed, and that has been published in medical journals, but still no real push has been made by the medical world to "educate" the general public on those findings. It is up to the medical consumer to change this failed policy by demanding that their caregivers become informed about all that is proven.
Medical consumers, especially our mothers and their families, must not be afraid to raise their voices for the cause of postpartum progress, and ask those questions and demand proven research be made available to them.
In my state, PA, House Bill, #2246, December 2003, is still pending. This bill would require all caregivers, (doulas not "yet" included), to give out Postpartum Information and Resource Lists to each pregnant woman. I have been communicating with Michael A. Sarfert, Esq., Counsel to Senator Jeffrey E. Piccola, since Election Day to see if a Postpartum Brochure could be available like the Breast Cancer Brochures that was mailed to each local homeowner/medical consumer. What is needed for this specific bill's passage is an available "brochure/resource list" to hand out to pregnant women.
Once I found this out, I sent them DAD's & PSI's web sites. The counsel relayed last week that the "drafts" are in the hands of their "Communications Dept." Unfortunately, DAD's brochure has not yet been updated with deletion of the old 1-800 #, but is still available from DAD or by copying it. Mr. Sarfert will be in touch with me soon if they need assistance with the brochure.
Perhaps similar Bills could be inacted in every state? If anyone wants a copy of Bill # 2246, as an example of what to ask for as a medical consumer in your state, please let me know.
Without either a brochure and resource list to hand out to each pregnant woman, there is no passing of Bill #2246. Perhaps there is a similar snag within the passage of HR 846? Its worth looking into! Either way, we must continue to put pressure on our legislators.
Ms. Bradford, I look forward to the PPD RUN for 2/26 – but mostly to meet you. I'll call both you and Katherine after the first of the week!
Take care, and yes, "keep on keeping on".
"Always A Mother"
I saw that and was surprised as well. …She cowrote "This Isn't What I Expected" with Karen Kleiman, and OCD is mentioned in her own book, When Words Are Not Enough. I can't imagine she doesn't know about PPD w/ocd. Maybe there wasn't time to differentiate between the two? It was an odd and disappointing statement.
–in Hawaii
Forgive me if this is a duplicate post, but it seemed to disappear and I am horrified that my comments seemed off base. In my view, the intrusive images of hurting one's baby caused by PP OCD and the risk of actually doing something caused by PPP are totally different. The mother with PP OCD knows that these thoughts are bizarre, not at all how she feels, and realizes that this "isn't me." In PPP, the ability to distinguish reality and one's true self from the psychotic symptoms is lost, and there is a real risk from this terrible illness. In no way would I want to diminish the anguish women with PP OCD feel when they have these thoughts, but I also would not want anyone with PP OCD to feel that she is a risk to her infant. She isn't, if the diagnosis is correct. She is afraid she might be, but that isn't to say that she is in fact. Again, she isn't, if the diagnosis is correct. One of the worst things about PP OCD is that you feel awful about the ideas; that doesn't happen with PPP because you cannot distinguish symptoms from your true self. Am I forgiven?
Dear Dr. Raskin:
Somehow I missed your reply til now. I believe the problem was caused from using the term "regular" in context with PPD. There does seem to be differing degrees of PPD according to quantity and intensity of symptoms; using the term "regular" indicated a lighter form of PPD in my view, but it would have helped to be given more time to explain it as such. Thanks for all that you have done and continue to do for "our" mothers – past, present and future.