Help Stop the Mothers Act!
Posted on | February 13, 2008 | 59 Comments
My friend Amy has been telling me about this for some time, and I’ve let it go without mentioning. Yet, it’s sooooooo important. Those of us on the other side of pregnancy, need to pitch in and make our voices heard. I’m posting about it quickly without the usual matching comic, because the vote is tomorrow. I’ll try and come up with a comic later today, I’ve been slogging in the garden all day (dearest superhusband got about 60 plants from work, so we had to get them all in the ground. It’s gorgeous!!!!) AND I was doing a podcast with Tanya of the Motherwear Blog AND finishing up the 2nd draft of the THIRD Hathor book ZINES,SLINGS, and OTHER DO IT YOURSELF THINGS.
anyway, on with the action alert. (a disclaimer, whenever I post about anti-depressants, I always hear from a couple of mothers who feel like anti-depressants saved their life. Okay. Great. Take a deep breath, and realize that this is about the bigger picture, EVERY woman being tested in pregnancy for PPD. The test being HIGHLY subjective. MOST woman being prescribed anti-depressants. And ALL women having no choice in the matter. Being able to take an anti-depressant if you feel like you really need it, is very different from HAVING to take one whether you want to or not).
STOP THE MOTHERS Act – A nationwide screening program for psychiatric disorders which encourages drugs to pregnant and postpartum women
URGENT – VISIT http://uniteforlife.org/MOTHERpress.htm and call the HELP Committee and HELP Committee Chair Senator Edward Kennedy TODAY! 2/13/08 They are looking at this tomorrow, Valentine’s Day. OBAMA is a cosponsor.To the HELP Committee of the United States Senate:
For years, the March of Dimes has warned not to use meds while pregnant. Why now encourage mothers to take drugs?
Please register this extreme objection to the proposed MOTHERS Act (S. 1375) which is now before you in committee. It is my earnest hope that you will immediately defeat this bill in committee. The bill has been brought to you under the guise of ensuring safety or support for new mothers- however, nothing could be further from the truth.
The bill was originally proposed in response to the death by suicide of Melanie Stokes, a pharmaceutical rep. who took her own life by leaping from a balcony several stories off of the ground. Contrary to popular understanding it was not post-partum depression that killed Melanie, but the numerous antidepressant drugs she was taking, which the FDA confirmed double the suicide risk.
Nobody is suggesting that new moms do not ever experience mood swings, depression, or even psychotic episodes. The more important issue is what the effect of this bill will be and why nobody is addressing potential methods of prevention. Everyone knows how many young moms experience gestational diabetes, but who is addressing the even higher rate of gestational hypoglycemia, which often initially manifests as depression? This is a physical condition that is treated with diet and is exacerbated by antidepressants (which list hypoglycemia as a side effect).
To simply screen women for post-partum mood disorders and ensure that they get “treatment,” we would be setting families up for the expectation of tragedy and increasing the chances of that actually happening when we refer them to medical “professionals” who are oblivious to the negative mind-altering effects of psychiatric drugs. A popular opinion among medical caregivers these days is that “post-partum mood disorders” must be a sign of an underlying biochemical imbalance and would be corrected with drugs.
Current drugs used on post-partum women include SSRIs, atypical antidepressants, and even antipsychotic drugs. These pose a significant risk to the immediate safety and health of women as well as their children and families. SSRIs carry a black box warning for suicide and the most popular one, Effexor (the same med. Andrea Yates was taking when she drowned her 5 children), has the words “homicidal ideation†listed as a side effect. Nearly every recent case of infanticide which has made news can be clearly linked back to a psychiatric drug. These drugs endanger babies and mothers.
Additionally, the drugs can be extremely addictive and also pose a risk to nurslings or babies exposed in subsequent pregnancies. Some babies have died from SIDS linked to exposure from pregnancy or nursing; others have experienced coma, seizures, GI bleeding, heart defects, lung problems, and many babies died before reaching full term or soon after birth.
The bill does not address the fact that studies show that biological agents (antidepressants for example) cited in the bill and already prescribed to pregnant women can cause congenital heart birth defects where children have had to undergo open-heart surgeries to correct this. Also, some babies are being born with organs outside their bodies, requiring immediate surgery.
In closing I want to re-emphasize the total lack of any real answer to post-partum depression posed by this bill. If we can prevent post-partum depression or support moms through it, or offer proven SAFE and EFFECTIVE natural alternatives to dangerous drugs, then we should. However we should never, ever become party to a pharmaceutical campaign to push drugs on the public. We will set ourselves up for disaster if we allow an invasion into the privacy of every family in the country and suggest to our most vulnerable citizens that they might be mentally ill.
We must do everything in our power to protect innocent children, and giving their mothers addictive drugs which pose a significant risk of causing suicide and violence does not protect anyone. It does cause the child to become addicted while still in the womb and sets up drug dependence which can be lifelong.
We still have no idea what effect most drugs have on developing brains. It might take decades for the impact on the developing brain to become apparent.
For information on the research pertaining to the risks of antidepressants and other treatments for new moms and their babies, details about the Melanie Stokes case (or you can read the letter by Dr. Ann Blake Tracy at http://uniteforlife.org/MOTHERSact.htm#drtracymothersact), as well as information on prevention strategies and safe, effective treatments for post-partum mood disorders, please contact us.
Sincerely,
Amy Philo
Founder, www.uniteforlife.org
Co-Founder, www.chaada.orgCamille Milke
Founder, www.copesfoundation.com
New Mexico State Director of the ICFDA (http://www.drugawareness.org/home.html)
Mother of a victim of psychiatric drug-induced suicide and grandmother to a now motherless childDr. Ann Blake Tracy
Executive Director of the ICFDA
http://www.drugawareness.org/home.html
Author of Prozac: Pancaea or Pandora? Our Serotonin NightmareAddendum
(available online: http://www.uniteforlife.org/MOTHERpress.htm)
Prevention and Alternatives Information from UNITE (www.uniteforlife.org):
I. Danger of drugs
A. Inducing suicide and homicide
http://uniteforlife.org/SSRIs%20and%20Suicide.html
http://www.drugawareness.org/home.html
www.ssristories.com
www.breggin.com
www.healyprozac.com
http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/antidepressants/default.htm
http://www.fda.gov/cder/warn/2007/Effexor_XRPromo.pdf
http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dockets/04n0330/04N-0330-EC16.html
http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/04/slides/2004-4065OPH1_04_Bostock_files/frame.htm#slide0012.htm,B. Addiction, subsequent pregnancies threatened, nurslings threatened:
http://uniteforlife.org/motherdetails.htm (details on spontaneous abortions and other pregnancy risks)
http://uniteforlife.org/breastfeeding.html
http://uniteforlife.org/antidepressants%20in%20pregnancy%20articles.html
http://uniteforlife.org/developing%20brains.htm
http://uniteforlife.org/health%20risks%20ssris.html
http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/SAFETY/2005/Paxil_DHCP%20Letter_Dec%202005.pdfhttp://www.fda.gov/medwaTCH/SAFETY/2002/Zoloft_USPI_rev4.pdf (See pages 17-18, Pregnancy paragraph – which states that an increase in stillbirths and newborn deaths occurred from pregnancy plus nursing exposure)Note: despite claims of minimal exposure to nurslings by some health professionals, the data on “safety” of nursing a baby while taking SSRIs and antipsychotics is based on an extremely small sample (nevermind that serious adverse events have been observed even in the few studies actually done). For SSRIs the studies amount to a few dozen people, many of which were also supplementally feeding formula. The Zyprexa study purported to study only 7 nursing couples and only examined 6 children’s blood. See http://uniteforlife.org/zyprexa%20objection.htm for more information on the risks of Zyprexa.
II. Prevention of Post-Partum Mood Disorders:
A. Avoid interventions in childbirth: HOME BIRTH or midwifery or otherwise natural childbirth statistically results in LESS PPD…
Mothers Can Avoid (Specifically):
1. Labor drugs, including pitocin which interferes with normal oxytocin stimulation of uterine contractions (oxytocin is the love hormone and sets off many chemicals in the brain associated with normal maternal bonding & protective behavior)
2. IVs with glucose water during labor which can lead to complications in the newborn like perceived excessive weight loss, hypoglycemia, thus creating “mommy guilt” from feeling as if she is unable to sustain her own baby’s survival due to perceived inadequate milk supply and subsequent breastfeeding difficulty when baby is inevitably given supplemental feedings
3. Avoid epidural which can cause breastfeeding difficulties in the newborn and may be associated with mood problems (the anesthesia fentanyl in the epidural is derived from cocaine)
4. Avoid episiotomy which can lead to excessive blood loss and fatigue as well as significant pain leading to use of pain medications
5. Avoid restrictive dieting before / after childbirth which can cause preterm labor (not having enough calories and protein leads to low albumin and high blood pressure), low blood sugar and lack of energy
6. Avoid epinephrine, which is often necessary in labor because of fetal distress or maternal distress (trouble breathing, low blood pressure) which are side effects in both mom and baby from pitocin or other augmentation as well as epidurals. Epinephrine is synthetic adrenaline and has been linked to mental disturbances.B. Post-partum period:
1. FOR MANY WEEKS MOMS WILL NEED: someone to help with meals, chores, child care, etc. Without that, women ARE FAR MORE LIKELY to feel “symptoms” of depression, anxiety, etc.
2. MOMS WILL NEED someone to help with breastfeeding if they are inexperienced or have problems. They can contact a La Leche League Leader or an IBCLC. Loss of breastfeeding is sometimes associated with PPD due to additional hormonal changes in moms, while breastfeeding itself is thought to ease PPD due to numerous factors.
3. MOMS (and families) WILL FEEL BETTER if they cosleep because they will be well-rested and breastfeeding will be easier. For safety tips on cosleeping moms can use common sense or write to amy@uniteforlife.org for more info. Contrary to campaigns by the Crib Manufacturers SIDS is actually more common in cribs.III. Alternatives to Drugs:
1. Screen for underlying medical conditions such as Thyroid disorders, anemia, etc. and treat those as safely as is possible. Thyroid disorders such as hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism (or both – postpartum thyroiditis) are quite common and can cause depression or anxiety. Often the first sign of hypoglycemia is depression which can be handled by eating often – 6 small meals per day helps keep the blood sugar level normal.
2. Omega 3 Supplements (From Fish Oil, Flaxseed, etc.)
3. Exercise (although initially excessive exercise will not help a woman, after childbirth it is necessary to rest in order to recover, and not lose too much blood)
http://uniteforlife.org/exercise.html Medication shown to cause relapse, exercise MORE effective than antidepressant drugs
4. Some people feel that counseling is effective
5. Some people find alternative treatments effective, for example: chiropractic, homeopathy (even for PSYCHOSIS), accupuncture, energy work, etc.
6. MOMS can FIND A SUPPORT GROUP or helpful PERSON but NOT one that will push them to use drugs.IV. Alternative Ways to Support American Families:
If the government really wants to help moms, why not educate on these common sense strategies, push for better maternity leave allowances, improve obstetric cooperation with midwifery, or promote paternity leave or leave for grandparents who can help new mothers during their time of need?V. The Bill Violates Basic American Principles and Rights:
Mothers want time in PEACE and PRIVACY to be with their new babies to bond. They DO NOT need to be dragged off to an invasive and dangerous screening for mental problems. The power of suggestion alone is enough to scare a significant amount of moms and this invasion of privacy goes far beyond anything EVER imposed on the U.S. Public.Furthermore, similar programs like Teen Screen have been a total failure with an 84% or higher misdiagnosis rate. The vast majority of these misdiagnosed students were referred to mental health practitioners and put on drugs.
==================
Additional Critiques of the Bill
==================There is no language in the bill that protects thousands of mothers being erroneously screened and drugged with antidepressants that medical studies show cause birth defects and withdrawal symptoms, devastating families and driving up health care costs to treat these iatrogenic-caused conditions.
The bill seeks more appropriations to the National Institutes of Health to research postpartum depression but doesn’t specify how the funds are to be used. For example, during the past 3 years, NIMH has already spent more than $10 million on 38 studies of PPD, yet the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine lists no grants on its website for such research.
There is no language about the diverse medical opinion and studies about “post partum depression” and whether it exists as a mental disability or as a physical condition that can be treated by normal medical or alternative means.
While the bill promotes more research into the condition, it doesn’t provide safeguards about this research and the effects of biological agents on the fetus–with studies suggesting that antidepressants may exert an impact on developmental processes of the embryo, and cause higher rates of premature delivery, low birth weight, admissions to intensive care units, and poor neonatal adaptation, including respiratory and feeding difficulties in infants.
The way in which the bill is currently worded could lead to thousands of suits as hundreds have already been filed concerning antidepressant use during pregnancy that has resulted in infants being born with a life-threatening lung disorder, PPHN and that between 10% and 20% of infants born with PPHN end up dying, even when they receive treatment.
Love,
Heather
Comments
59 Responses to “Help Stop the Mothers Act!”
The Zoops!
February 13th, 2008 @ 3:58 pm
I’d love to support your side fully, but as someone who almost walked into the woods behind her house and killed herself and baby, I can’t.
Having SOME support is better than none at all. I don’t agree that drugs are the answer-counselling SHOULD be the first line of defence.
But sitting in a hospital crying, begging for help and getting none, having a month go by and only the lactation consultant calling and noticing something wasn’t right-that IS NOT the way it should work.
Most women experience the usual blues, and continue on. Someone of us, many who already have underlying mood disorders, need help-and lots of it. PPD treatment being either non-existant or ghettoized helps no one, and leads to dead mothers and/or babies.
For the first time, PPD is getting a voice-a voice it didn’t have when I suffered in silence until my family helped me. Not everyone has a family to help them. Not everyone has help, period.
Forcing PPD into the lexicon in hospitals isn’t a bad thing, not if you’ve been there. It’s not an invasion of privacy to offer mental health help any more than it’s an invasion of privacy to physically show someone how to latch their child.
I could be dead right now, if not for the fact that someone finally listened at my hospital. I don’t wish that month of my life on any other woman.
February 13th, 2008 @ 4:47 pm
Of course I don’t feel that any woman should be forced to undergo psychological screening or forced to take drugs, but I really dislike the whole “antidepressants are bad and scary and evil” tone of the article.
Certainly, there ARE people who are on antidepressants who don’t need to be, and there CAN be some bad side effects. But calling them “addictive drugs which pose a significant risk of causing suicide and violence” and focusing on the unknown effects on babies could actually DISCOURAGE some moms from getting help they truly need.
I didn’t have PPD. What I do have is a lifelong history of obsessive-compulsive disorder, which results in severe depression when not treated. When I tried to go off my medications before getting pregnant, my husband told me he’d rather we not have children at all, if I was going to insist on being off my meds. Yes, it was that bad. After a lot of research and consideration, and talking with my doctors, I decided to take Prozac. I took it throughout my pregnancy and while nursing, and my 10-month-old, breastfed son is a very happy, very healthy, very normal little boy. And there’s no doubt in my mind that whatever theoretical negative effects Prozac may have had on him are greatly outweighed by the fact that he has a happy, functional mother, rather than one who has a nervous breakdown because there’s a dustbunny in the corner.
February 13th, 2008 @ 5:03 pm
I read this post and was really infuriated at a government that would even consider this kind of law- to push women to take tests and drugs they don’t want. After reading the text of the bill, though, I have to say I don’t see anything at all like that in there.
I see education and awareness raising and no language that suggests to me that anything like the worries you raise here. I do see that there is some possible alarmism about the relatively rare cases of post-partum psychosis but if a few very serious cases- and a whole lot of moderate and mild cases are healed (with or without drugs) that is a wonderful outcome.
February 13th, 2008 @ 5:52 pm
Thank you Heather for posting this.
The FDA confirms a doubling of the suicide rate which is why the meds carry a black box warning for suicide and all of the medical studies are posted at http://uniteforlife.org/motherdetails.htm as mentioned in the press release.
Another implication is that anyone who has a history of mental illness can lose their 2nd amendment rights, and this bill which could screen every mom in the country could cause the misdiagnosis and subsequent loss of 2nd amendment freedoms.
I’m surprised that the two people who posted first weren’t more scared of a government intrusion and sterotyping of moms. Talk about profiling! Motherhood does not automatically make you ill and to suspect every woman during her childbirthing years is extremely paternalistic.
Everyone should ALWAYS have a choice. The implication of this bill is that it will pressure states to implement screening programs which will inevitably result in more women being drugged.
The bill does also provide funding for development of new drugs which should be the pharmaceutical companies’ problem not taxpayers.
What you see in the bill is what the senators who cosponsored it wanted you to see. The problem also comes in with the vagueness of the language. We have to look at the effect and the implications, not just the flowery lovey dovey help you all language.
If you are in the place where you are considering taking a psychiatric drug you should have the right to choose for yourself and the access to complete information. I hope anyone who is in that place will consider reading the medical literature that we have collected on UNITE and other websites. Also a highly important one to check out is http://www.healyprozac.com
Sincerely,
Amy
ZOLOFT survivor
February 13th, 2008 @ 6:09 pm
Well, they already test pregnant women for diseases they know they don’t have- like someone who’s been married 13 years being tested for syphilis! (If we were tested for that before we got married- state law- and we haven’t messed around, then where would that come from?) And gestational diabetes, and everything else under the sun. So why not add this to the menu?
NO ONE should ever have to take medication that they don’t want to take, no matter what the circumstances. Freedom of choice is what this country was founded on!
February 13th, 2008 @ 6:47 pm
Wiffersnapper, to be fair, a woman could have a husband who is cheating on her and has passed something along to her. I do think that full disclosure of what a woman is being tested for is important, but it makes sense to me to test even if you’re totally sure you don’t have an STD. I’d bet my life that my DH is faithful … but I wouldn’t bet my child’s life, KWIM?
Amyphilo — no, I’m really not at all concerned about my Second Amendment rights or “government intrusion.” I have no desire to carry a gun (and my husband has a pistol if I ever -really- need one for some strange reason). Seeking (and receiving) appropriate treatment for a debilitating problem and living a healthy, normal life are FAR, FAR more important to me than my right to own a gun.
February 13th, 2008 @ 6:58 pm
I understand what you are saying but these are not medical tests, these are subjective questionnaires. Have you seriously not thought about the possibility that something with a misdiagnosis percentage in the high 80s or low 90s is a subjective, innacurate test?
This is not the same as testing your blood.
Government Alert: American women, bend over!
February 13th, 2008 @ 7:06 pm
Furthermore read the links from the press statement above… treatments for other conditions do not normally involve drugs which pose a suicide risk or a risk of spontaneous abortion, heart defects, and PPHN which can be fatal. Please read the medical literature and get informed. http://www.uniteforlife.org
Nobody is stopping women from using drugs, this is about protecting vulnerable people from being conned into taking something inappropriately (that was me 3.5 years ago. Thank God I survived)
You can go get Prozac for $4 at Kroger now! There is no reason to make the drugging go even further. In the USA antidepressants are already the number one prescribed drug. No other country even comes close to our levels of SSRI and other psych med usage. Does America have some special mass genetic disorder or have we been conned by DTC ads? Only one other country in the world has DTC advertising – New Zealand.
This is a lot like how women have been conned by Obstetrics into thinking that those doctors know better than their own body during birth. We have to educate people back into using their common sense and investigating before medicating.
February 13th, 2008 @ 7:12 pm
This “Stop the MOTHERS Act” letter says misleading scary things about treatment for PPD and for depression in general, and I really hope it dosen’t scare away any new mother who really needs treatment for PPD. What a tragedy that would be for that woman and her baby. Real information about the use of psychoactive medications during pregancy and nursing can be found at
http://www.womensmentalhealth.org/
The proposed bill doesn’t say anyone should be FORCED to be treated with drugs. If you read the bill (which the letter doesn’t even encourage you to do), you’ll see that the bill doesn’t focus on drugs at all. The bill seems to be just trying to draw attention to a women’s health issue, something which I personally think is very much needed.
As for the “Stop the MOTHERS Act” letter, I like the idea of educating people about what women can do during labor and after the birth to try to avoid PPD, but some women really do get PPD and some of those women really do need to be treated with drugs.
Hathor, I love your site, but I wish you’d take down this misleading, anti-woman propaganda.
February 13th, 2008 @ 7:13 pm
I heard something incredibly bizarre the other day along the lines of this…my cousin gave birth in a midwest hospital and my grandmother called me asking why they were offering her some sort of “patch” for “preventing” PPD. Supposedly it contains estrogen and they said that would prevent her from getting depressed or something like that. I had never heard of this. A red flag went up for me especially for women trying to breastfeed.
This seems like something they are going to try and push on women the same as giving all babies shots and creams and other crap “just in case” without regard to what the hell they are putting into their bodies!!!! I want to scream.
I have been a sufferer of severe depression for many years of my life following military service and I do not advocate anyone screening with such ridiculous tests and then subsequently pushing meds on women. I was on meds with my second child and he really seems to have been handed the short end of the stick. He was born with an incomplete soft palate, is small, and has had numerous neurological problems including epilepsy and asperger’s syndrome. I don’t know for a fact that the meds caused it, but the doctors have NEVER once been interested in reporting these things as problems related to the meds and they just dismiss them as coincidences.
Anyway, just my 2 cents….Women are very impressionable and typically scared during pregnancy, this is the last thing we need to do…
February 13th, 2008 @ 7:20 pm
anonymous lady… I am not anti-woman. That is the most ridiculous thing I have heard.
LMAO
Also what is “real information”?????
Is it that which agrees with the drug companies, or that which is from the FDA website, or that which is a medical article?????
Everyone should see this:
http://www.uniteforlife.org/suppresseddata.htm
and
http://youtube.com/watch?v=U2Sd73DQ2J0
Also did you hear about the heath ledger case? http://www.uniteforlife.org/ledger.htm
as well as: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozqWGQko8u8
He died from prescription drug toxicity just like Anna Nicole and Daniel Smith, and Rebecca Riley.
Heather I apologize for what you are going to be put through for speaking up. I have already gotten a few hateful emails from people who promote pharma propaganda.
This is why we need to just have the right to privacy and not an invasive government screening program.
If there are any sympathizers out there, I need your help with something else as well! Please see:
http://www.uniteforlife.org/help%20rebecca%20now.htm
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuFFfm3N3Nc
I could really use some help with faxing her press release around the world to try to end her 30 year torture. See the press release at http://www.uniteforlife.org/ReleaseRebecca.htm
the list of human rights organizations is at:
http://www.uniteforlife.org/humanrightsorg.htm
also see if you can send it on to your friends or send a letter yourself. They are trying to crush her to death!!!!
Sorry for so many links, I hope you find them informative.
February 13th, 2008 @ 7:21 pm
I have to agree with Thordora here, and others. I don’t see this as saying women MUST take drugs, and I think screening will likely do more good than harm. Lord how I wish someone – anyone, except the lady working at Wal-Mart who stopped me and asked if I needed help (seriously) – would have recognized that I was going through PPD, which only got worse when I got pg with the second in two years, which only got worse after he was born and we moved 1,100 miles away. I didn’t really start to recognize what was going on until I was on the upswing and starting to get better, and being the type who always wants to put on the brave, happy face around most people, NO ONE close to me (except my husband, who didn’t understand it) had a CLUE what was going on in my head, or that I was miserable.
My midwives, though? I think they suspected. I think if they’d been forced to give some questionaire, they would have seen it. I think they would have helped, and maybe I wouldn’t have thought about slitting my wrists, or been terrified of the times my husband had to leave for work and leave me home alone with my two babies.
For the record, I don’t think drugs are always the answer, or should be the first line of treatment (usually). I tried St. John’s Wort, and it didn’t help at all. I think natural things should be tried first – diet, exercise (the best help I’ve found), Omega-3 supplements, talk therapy, time alone, proper rest (sleep deprivation was a huge part for me). But for some women, drugs ARE the answer, and the ONLY answer, and we need to recognize that, too, and be supportive.
I’m sorry, but from what I read, I fully support screening of ALL pregnant and postpartum women for depression and other mental illness, and support the discussion of the various forms of treatment available.
February 13th, 2008 @ 7:22 pm
becci76, you can make a medwatch report directly to the fda w/o your doc
so sorry for what happened to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
if you need help email me
amyphilo@yahoo.com
February 13th, 2008 @ 7:25 pm
judy it does not sound like you read the press release, the bill does not promote alternatives. It mentions drugs multiple times
St. Johns Wort is NO help at all because all it does is raise your serotonin which is not what you need. That is exactly why the meds are dangerous. Serotonin does not need to be raised. Google serotonin syndrome.
Exercise is more effective than meds – as referenced above in the press release
It lowers your cortisol
SSRIs actually raise your cortisol
Please see http://www.healyprozac.com for more on how many people are “helped” by the meds
February 13th, 2008 @ 7:29 pm
amyphilo, I said I *don’t* support meds as a first treatment, at all. I think they should be a last resort. However, I have a family member (my grandmother) who was bi-polar, who absolutely NEEDED her medication, and it may have prolonged her life and saved the lives of some of those around her. (Her behavior off her medication almost got her daughter, my aunt, killed.)
Please quote where in the bill it encourages medication as a first line of treatment, and says alternatives should not be discussed.
I realize the problem is that most doctors will want to prescribe meds as the first line of treatment. That, imo, is not a problem with this bill, but a problem with the mentality of most of the culture today, and will take a lot to fix.
That should not be a reason to discourage the screening and potential treatment that could save the lives of women and their babies.
February 13th, 2008 @ 7:30 pm
also the text of the bill is on my site:
http://www.uniteforlife.org/s1375Mothers.htm
the link is just below the press release
http://www.uniteforlife.org/MOTHERpress.htm
February 13th, 2008 @ 7:32 pm
judy read the text of the bill, if you can’t find it let me know
Your GM was in withdrawal
February 13th, 2008 @ 7:42 pm
No, trust me, she was NOT in withdrawal, and I find it deeply scary that you would say such a thing without knowing the circumstances and her behavior. Are you saying there is NO ONE who benefits from these medications? Because I can’t believe that. Many of her dangerous behaviors came well before they prescribed the drugs, and the other episodes came when she had been many months or years without taking them.
I agree, completely, that the over-prescription of anti-depressants and other mood-altering drugs is deeply problematic. My own mother has been taking them for a few years, and they haven’t helped her at all – possibly made it worse. What she needs is to get a life – get off her couch, turn off the TV, take a walk, make some friends.
I see the problem with a culture that wants a quick fix, a pill to make things better. I agree that there is a good chance this will be interpreted incorrectly and likely lead to *more* scrips for unnecessary drugs. That may be a by-product, but not the intent, of the bill. I am no fan of big-pharma, and am about as crunchy as they come when it comes to most things.
But I can’t get worked up against something that could save lives, if done properly.
And as far as testing in pg for STDs, I had a friend who was born with one, from her mother. Someone like that could be pg and never know they had it, and pass it on to their baby. I don’t see a problem with that, either.
February 13th, 2008 @ 8:03 pm
Judy you are right. I should not make assumptions. You and I agree on a lot.
I don’t know if you know how long withdrawal lasts. Or whether you know about protracted (delayed) withdrawal. Or whether you understand the fact that theories behind mental disorders are not validated or the underlying physical causes that can be safely treated.
If a new mommy wants to be treated for PPD then she can go for it. But I oppose government screening which will lead to a rise in needless prescriptions.
I hope you will read the links I sent. It is futile to discuss and debate when we don’t even know whether the other person has the necessary information.
If you want to email me go ahead. amyphilo@yahoo.com
February 13th, 2008 @ 8:36 pm
I thought about this. Talked to my husband about it. (He’s TOTALLY anti-big-pharma, has NEVER taken a scrip in the 6+ years we’ve been together)
With my gma’s case, might there have been other ways to treat her? Maybe. Would she have accepted those ideas? (Diet, exercise, counseling) NO WAY! Did the drugs help? Absolutely. Might something else have helped? We’ll never know.
In a case like that (or others I’ve seen), when people WILL NOT ACCEPT “alternative” treatments (how ridiculous is it that basic healthy lifestyle advice is alternative treatment, while drugs are the conventional form?), are they better off continuing to suffer – maybe even lose their lives – rather than take meds? Or, if the meds help, might the meds be the right choice?
I err on the side of treatment. I’m glad my gma lived as long as she did, when she might not have without drugs.
I DON’T WANT more people out there on drugs. I want people who DO take them to understand the potential downsides. I’m for informed consent, people taking more personal responsibility for their health and well-being.
I think you are right that we agree on a lot. I don’t know why this got me so worked up, except that I wish I could get back the part of my life I spent unable to enjoy my children and my life because of the cloud I was in, and I don’t want any other women to go through that needlessly.
I’d like to see whether midwives and other “alternative” practicioners are more likely to see the signs of PPD, and recommend natural, healthy treatments for it. My guess would be yes, and another reason to encourage the midwifery model of care for most routine healthy women.
February 13th, 2008 @ 8:44 pm
Amyphilo, I have to confess that I’m wondering if you’ve ever known lived with a serious mental illness.
I grew up with a mother with -severe- and untreated OCD (well, until she was diagnosed), and it was indescribable. She bleached EVERYTHING. She washed her hands till they were so dry they would crack and bleed. She wouldn’t directly touch objects — she used Kleenex every time she had to handle ANYTHING. If a person she thought looked “dirty” walked past us in the store, she would quiz me about if they brushed up against me.
The difference after she was diagnosed and started on the right medications was night and day. Oh, and incidentally, she got PLENTY of exercise — as did I at the height of my depression (I was attending college on the largest campus in the nation). Serious mental illness is not something that can be treated by a jaunt around the block.
February 13th, 2008 @ 9:36 pm
See this: http://uniteforlife.org/motherdetails.htm
“MOTHER’S ACT†WOULD SUBJECT PREGNANT MOTHERS
TO DRUGS CAUSING SPONSTANEOUS ABORTION AND BIRTH DEFECTS
Current legislation moving through Congress called the “Mother’s Act†(S 1375 in the Senate) seeks to “educate,” “screen†and “treat” new mothers for postpartum depression. This sounds like a good idea, until you hear the specifics of what is planned.
The bill defines postpartum depression as “a devastating mood disorder which strikes many women during and after pregnancy.” The idea is to first screen as many pregnant women and new mothers as possible for depression using a 10-question survey, and “treat†those who they deem have depression or postpartum depression with antidepressants.
Despite numerous studies showing a link between Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant use by pregnant women and spontaneous abortion or birth defects in newborns, the primary treatments that will be recommended are these newer SSRI antidepressants!
SSRIs Have Been Linked to Spontaneous Abortion
and Birth Defects in Newborns
Here is just a sampling of studies that point this out:
May 1993: A study published in the Journal of The American Medical Association reported that of 117 pregnancies where the mother took Prozac during the first trimester, the risk of miscarriage was 14.8% compared to 7.8% in mothers not exposed to Prozac or other antidepressants.[1]
November 1993: The Journal of the American Medical Association reported in a study that the risk of spontaneous abortion in women taking the SSRI antidepressant Prozac was as high as 15.9% and 3.4% perinatal (around the birth) malformations.[2]
August 2003: The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration reported that the use of SSRIs during or after pregnancy could result in newborn babies experiencing withdrawal effects and could also experience a toxic effect from ingestion of an SSRI in breast-milk. Withdrawal effects the baby experienced included agitation, jitteriness, poor feeding, sleepiness/lethargy, gastrointestinal symptoms and hypotania (deficient tone or tension).[3] (The Physicians Desk Reference also warns that Paxil can be secreted through breast milk).
September 2005: Studies conducted by Danish and U.S. researchers determined that the use of SSRIs in the first three months of pregnancy was linked to a 40% increased risk of birth defects such as cleft palate and cardiac defects appeared to be 60% more likely when women used SSRIs.[4]
February 9, 2006: The New England Journal of Medicine found that mothers who took SSRIs in the second half of their pregnancies were 6 times more likely to give birth to infants with a lung disorder called persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN). Between 10% and 20% of infants with PPHN will end up dying even if they receive treatment.[5]
July 2006: The FDA warned of the risk of a fatal lung condition in newborns whose mothers took SSRIs during pregnancy.[6]
October 2006: The journal Epidemiology, reported that babies born to women who took SSRI’s during the second or third month of pregnancy had nearly 2 times the risk of having congenital malformations, with the most common being cardiovascular in 29%, muscle and bone malformations in 31% and 14% had digestive malformations.
May 2007: A study published in the Journal of The American Medical Association reported that of 117 pregnancies where the mother took Prozac during the first trimester, the risk of miscarriage was 14.8% compared to 7.8% in mothers not exposed to Prozac or tricyclic antidepressants.[7]
The U.S. government should not be funding research and treatment of expectant mothers that will result in spontaneous abortion
or birth defects to their young!
STUDIES AND DRUG REGULATORY AGENCY WARNINGS AGAINST PSYCHIATRIC DRUG USE DURING PREGNANCY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Any legislation that provides for further funding of research into “post partum depression†opens the door to creating an even greater risk to pregnant women. Such research ultimately recommends biological (drug) treatments, which never cure, but potentially damage and place newborns at risk of serious physical problems, withdrawal and even death. Dozens of studies already show that these drugs are hazardous to pregnant women and infants.
“These babies are bathed in serotonin [from Prozac-like antidepressants] during a key period of their development and we really don’t know what it’s doing to them or what the long-term effects might be. It could be that they go ‘cold turkey’ when they are born or the serotonin could be having an effect on their brains, or it could be a bit of both.”
Philip Zeskind, a professor of pediatrics,
The American Journal of Pediatrics 2004
BIRTH DEFECTS AND OTHER ADVERSE EFFECTS SUFFERED BY INFANTS WHOSE MOTHERS WERE PRESCRIBED ANTIDEPRESSANTS DURING PREGNANCY
Abnormal crying
Agitation
Bluish skin color from lack of oxygen
Breathing problems
Congenital anomaly (abnormality)
Convulsions
Feeding difficulties
Heart defects
Low birth rate
Jitteriness
Lethargy
Miscarriage
Neurological problems (symptoms include irritability, constant crying, convulsions)
Omphalocele (abnormality in which the infant’s intestine or other abdominal organs protrude from the navel)
Premature birth
Rapid breathing
Respiratory difficulties
Restlessness
Rigidity
Seizures
Small intestine defects
Spontaneous abortions
Suction problems
Tremors
Withdrawal effects, including convulsions, agitation (symptoms could begin on the first day after birth and persist for 10 days even though levels of the antidepressant were undetectable on day 6)
These adverse reactions were reported in: Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, New England Journal of Medicine, World Health Organization, Epidemiology, The Archives of General Psychiatry, Harvard, The American Journal of Pediatrics, Science, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Journal of The American Medical Association, the FDA, Australian Therapeutics Goods Association.
§ According to one of the world’s leading experts on SSRI (Prozac-like) antidepressants, Dr David Healy, a professor at the University of Wales College of Medicine, “There is quite a movement at the moment to say all pregnant women are depressed.” However, “There is no good reason to prescribe antidepressants, because only 1 out of 10 people are likely to respond to the drugs rather than to attention and support.” “So in essence,” he notes, “nine out of 10 pregnant women will be subject to the risks of the SSRIs….â€
§ Experts critical of antidepressant use during pregnancy all agree that in the absence of any proven effectiveness of treatment with SSRIs, potential harm to the fetus cannot be justified.
____________________________________________________________________…
February 13th, 2008 @ 9:51 pm
Sanveann,
Thanks for sharing that about your mom.
Growing up I was pretty oblivious to this issue. We had a pretty normal, happy family. When I met my husband I was a bit scared due to the history of suicide and “mental disorders”
I observed my little sister-in-law drugged from a young age for ADHD
When I was 26, only 3 days after my first baby was born (3.5 years ago) he nearly died from a life-threatening choking incident. I became extremely panicky and was put on drugs for this worry over my baby. The Zoloft caused me to hallucinate killing my baby and have suicidal urges. I went to the hospital because I thought they could help. I was admitted and then wanted to go back home but they put a 72 hour hold on me which was not going to even take effect for 48 hours. My baby was only 10 days old.
I was so freaked out. I experienced just about every side effect of Zoloft.
They told me to take MORE Zoloft and that I just needed to give it time to work. Thankfully I had the supervision of my mom.
For 5 months I waited for it to work. But it never did. Each time I raised the dose I experienced a dose-dependent worsening of homicidal ideation, first towards my baby, then my family, then my cats and neighbors. It was pretty clear I was losing the battle and the war going on inside.
My mom had begged me for months to read the information and warnings. I would not listen. Finally when I had given Zoloft a chance and my only other option was to stay on it and hope for the best or wean the baby and take Zyprexa I had to make a choice. I decided against weaning. I stayed on Zoloft. But as I read more about the other victims I realized that my doctors were leaving me in the dark.
I decided I had nothing to lose by doing a trial of going off of Zoloft, if I was going to go off of it to start Zyprexa anyway, I might as well go ahead. My shrink would not give me any information over the phone so I started withdrawing on my own.
I told her that I was going to keep doing this unless she would tell me how to do it safely. She saw me at her office and recommended against it. She told me to do cold turkey OR a taper schedule (which I now realize was even too fast).
My mom had been with me all this time and I had counted on her numerous times. I begged her to stay with me in MN (she lived in TX) until I could withdraw safely so I could be supervised.
I withdrew and started to improve. By the time I got off of it I felt so much better even though withdrawal itself was scary.
WIthin a couple of months I was back to normal.
I had been told not to get pregnant and warned against having any more children. I was told that I had a 90% chance of recurrence and that PPD usually gets worse each time.
I had a second baby, Toby, who is now 17 months old. I had a home birth and stayed the hell away from shrinks. I also monitored my thyroid condition with my doctor every 6 weeks during and after the pregnancy for some time.
I will never go to a shrink again and I highly object to any government attempt to screen me. If I were to answer their quiz honestly I would be labeled with any number of the 375 plus mental disorders. Everyone is mentally ill according to the DSM. This bill is just a steppingstone.
I don’t object to education about natural alternatives, prevention, or understanding. I object to the possibility of forced screening and increased drugging with agents proven to double the suicide risk – drugs that list “homicidal ideation” on the label and pose a threat to babies exposed in pregnancy. I object to innocent babies being killed by the drugs.
With all respect I can muster for those who are suffering I have to say that what I went through is far worse than the majority of the DSM diagnoses and it was all drug induced.
The majority of people who get labeled are treated with dangerous drugs which are overall no better than placebo.
Why use dangerous drugs when there are so many safe and effective alternatives. Not to mention the bill doesn’t address prevention at all and there are so many common sense ways to prevent most cases of PPD.
I encourage you to read the article on serotonin syndrome to make sense of this, and why so many people claim to “feel better” when taking the drugs:
http://www.babywhys.org/serotonin%20syndrome.htm
http://www.uspharmacist.com/oldformat.asp?url=newlook/files/feat/acf2fa6.htm
table: drugs affecting serotonin
Serotonin Syndrome: Recognition and Management
Steve Nolan, Pharm.D.
Resident, University of Tennesesee College of Phamacy and William F. Bowld Hospital, Memphis
J. Allen Scoggin, Pharm.D., MPA
Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmcoeconomics, University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy, Memph
——————————————————————————–
Serotonin syndrome is described in the literature as a potentially serious drug-related condition characterized by a number of mental, autonomic and neuromuscular changes.1 Although serotonin syndrome can cause death, the condition is mild in most persons, and with supportive care alone they tend to recover completely. The syndrome, first described in animal models in the 1950s, was referred to as the “serotonin behavioral” or “hyperactivity syndrome.”1 Reports of serotonin syndrome in humans followed, and have become increasingly frequent since the 1960s. The earliest reports involved persons who were taking monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). Some of the early reports included patients who were also taking tryptophan, a serotonin precursor.1,2
Serotonin syndrome is most often reported in patients taking two or more medications that increase CNS serotonin levels by different mechanisms. The most common drug combinations associated with serotonin syndrome involve the MAOIs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and the tricyclic antidepressants.3 Because of the dramatic rise in the use of SSRIs, it is predicted that emergency room physicians are going to encounter the serotonin syndrome more frequently than in the past.1 Symptoms associated with the condition appear in TABLE 1.
TABLE 1.
Symptoms Associated with Serotonin Syndrome
Mental status changes
Confusion (51%)
Agitation (34%)
Hypomania (21%)
Anxiety (15%)
Coma (29%)
Cardiovascular
Sinus tachycardia (36%)
Hypertension (35%)
Hypotension (15%)
Gastrointestinal
Nausea (23%)
Diarrhea (8%)
Abdominal pain (4%)
Salivation (2%)
References 2, 4
Motor Abnormalities
Myoclonus (58%)
Hyperreflexia (52%)
Muscle rigidity (51%)
Restlessness (48%)
Tremor (43%)
Ataxia/incoordination (40%)
Shivering (26%)
Nystagmus (15%)
Seizures (12%)
Other
Diaphoresis (45%)
Unreactive pupils (20%)
Tachypnea (26%)
Hyperpyrexia (45%)
Several other medications can precipitate the serotonin syndrome (TABLE 2). Increased reporting of cases appears to be related to at least three things: recently published diagnostic criteria describing serotonin syndrome; greater use of antidepressant medications, such as the SSRIs; and an increased attempt by physicians to differentiate serotonin syndrome from neuroleptic malignant syndrome.4
TABLE 2.
Drugs that Affect Serotonin Levels
Effect Drug
Increase serotonin synthesis L-tryptophan
Decrease serotonin
metabolism isocarboxazid
phenelzine
selegiline
tranylcypromine
Increase serotonin release amphetamines
cocaine
reserpine
Inhibit serotonin uptake amitriptyline
clomipramine
desipramine
doxepin
imipramine
nortriptyline
protriptyline
fluvoxamine
fluoxetine
paroxetine
nefazadone
sertraline
trazodone
amphetamines
cocaine
dextromethorphan
meperidine
venlafaxine
Direct serotonin
receptor agonists buspirone
lysergic acid
diethylamide(LSD)
sumatriptan
Nonspecific increase in
serotonin activity lithium
Dopamine agonists amantadine
bromocriptine
bupropion
levodopa
pergolide
pramipexole
References 2, 4
Mild to moderately severe cases of serotonin syndrome usually resolve in 24 to 72 hours.1 Though most cases can be treated and resolve within a week, some patients become acutely ill and require hospitalization. In some instances patients have been admitted to the ICU and required mechanical ventilation. Mortality associated with this condition is estimated to be 11%.4
February 13th, 2008 @ 10:01 pm
That should have said history of suicide and mental disorders in the family…
February 13th, 2008 @ 10:03 pm
Incidentally this all took place in 2004, when the first major black box warning for suicide was added by the FDA.
My shrink said I would have to wean to take Zyprexa, now all of the sudden shrinks did a study on 7 women to promote Zyprexa to nursing moms. They studied the blood of a whopping 6 babies.
Side note: go to the NPR website and look up the audio report called “Drug Test Cowboys” in which it states that people get paid to participate in trials but paid LESS if they report side effects, as well as getting kicked out from the trials for reporting side effects
February 13th, 2008 @ 10:09 pm
Lawmakers Catch Glaxo Hiding Paxil Suicide Risks – Again (Part II)
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/01961/paxil-suicide-risk2.html
February 13th, 2008 @ 11:17 pm
I am sure that we all agree meds have their place, but I believe the issue at hand is women being screened by faulty methods and convinced that they are suffering from something when they may really be not. I think that we all agree that depression should be properly treated, but there are so many more ways to treat it other than drugs. Most of it can be prevented completely. The drug industry is in the pockets of the doctors and vice versa and using a faulty screening device has the potential to put more women on drugs who really just need extra help around the house and a nice hot quiet bath. Lord knows that does us all wonders.
I am rambling, but I think that we must remember that the more we ask the government for help the less control we have over personal freedom.
February 13th, 2008 @ 11:25 pm
OK I know you’re all getting sick of me… honestly I hate having to post so many different times to convey all my thoughts.
I don’t know if you guys know this but the school shootings, moms killing babies, etc. have been linked to SSRIs. http://www.ssristories.com
The reason I wanted to write again though was mainly to point out that any time you are referred to a doctor for a mental health reason, all they have to do is call the cops and they can force you to be hospitalized. This is happening to Mark Taylor (the first victim shot at Columbine) right now as we speak. He went a little bit crazy after what happened to him being shot so many times. When he was observed in a grocery store pacing the cops picked him up and took him to the hospital. The doctors there can legally hold you against your will and there is nothing you can do about it. Laws vary by state. I noticed something in this bill about hospitalization and that scares me. You can also be legally force medicated.
If you have ever read the AAP statements on vaccines you would already know that the medical establishment opposes free choice on those and they don’t think parents can decide for themselves.
The same is true of psych patients.
This is NOT a place you want to go or be referred to by a screener!
I can only urge all of you reading this to get informed… and if you have questions you can feel free to email me. The whole system is so very corrupt.
Have a happy and psycho-free V-day!!
February 13th, 2008 @ 11:56 pm
I am with you amyphilo, I always think of twelve more things to say. I, too, worry that things like this can turn into policy sort of thing that women just go along with instead of thinking for themselves.
February 14th, 2008 @ 5:59 am
Amyphilo, I’m sorry that you had such an awful experience. My heart goes out to you.
But just because these drugs had very bad consequences for you doesn’t mean that they are bad all around. EVERY drug of every class has the potential to cause major harm.
I won’t get into the whole issue of people being put in mental wards against their will. Let’s just say I’ve been there, done that, with my family, and I think there are times when it IS warranted.
February 14th, 2008 @ 6:57 am
Sanveann,
I can’t force you to read the information but I don’t think that it’s humanly possible to even read all the links I put in the press release and not be incredibly concerned.
Nobody is trying to stop anyone from getting treatment. We are trying to stop people from getting NEEDLESS treatment as well as to be aware of the risks, and we also want people to be aware of the SAFE alternatives.
To force someone into a hospital because they are mentally ill is a human rights denial. We should not do that. I was involuntarily incarcerated for only 2 days. It was the worst 2 days of my life. I would not wish that on anyone. Honestly it made me depressed! Not too helpful.
I was way safer and happier at home with supervision from my mom.
The problem is that the drugs OVERALL do make people worse and the treatements of the shrinks cause significant harm. Everyone needs to be given a choice. We should be offering them empathetic help and access to their families. If someone needs to be put on suicide watch that can happen in a more caring environment than a psych ward.
Have you ever been an involuntary patient yourself? Do you understand all the things that go on in psych wards? Intimidation, loss of dignity, even rape and murder.
February 14th, 2008 @ 6:58 am
Furthermore the big problem here is the government expansion of screening and invasion.
February 14th, 2008 @ 7:09 am
Noncompliance with treatment disorder is in the DSM. LOL I guess that means I am mentally ill.
February 14th, 2008 @ 7:16 am
Man that is alot to read. First a confession… I suffered from PPD for about 18 months. You know what I did? I talked to people, I ate better and I made sure I got help. I didn’t move thousands of miles away from my support group… and if you read that right, I had a support group. I have friends who care about me and a husband who helps out.
I think what women need more then drugs (they do have their place for sure) is support. No one should be dealing with just having a baby alone. Yet that is exactly how our society is set up. INDEPENDANCE! God forbid you need people and if you do you are weak and need drugs. And not just a therapist who will tell you to take drugs but actual friends. A community. You know that saying “It takes a village to raise a child”? It does. And not just what you think, but it helps the mom to have friends and people she can trust.
We are a nation of pill poppers. No one wants to actually DO something. If it means you have to get up and exercise or eat better or let the house work go to go for a walk. If it means that you have to live on less and take some down time… we don’t support it.
Mothers need actual support not drugs. (And again as a disclaimer I KNOW DRUGS HAVE THEIR PLACE!) but not every mom needs drugs. What they need is people who will not judge and be there for them.
heather in tucson
nak
February 14th, 2008 @ 7:56 am
I felt the urge to actually register and leave a comment because I have some experience with mental health issues (and I’m a human being, and let’s face it, we all love to share our stories!).
It frightens me that antidepressants are handed out like candy at the first sign of feeling a little sadder than usual, partly because that’s just stupid and dangerous, but mostly because of the fun little ride I had when I started antidepressants. Mind you, I was in a pretty black (not just a little sad) place and my husband was terrified when I finally made it to my GP’s office, but pumping me full of SSRI’s probably wasn’t his best decision in the world. I have bipolar disorder, and I’ve had it for years, and, strangely, I knew I had it (sort of), I just couldn’t be bothered getting around to seeing anyone about it because I was managing it just fine. Turns out, SSRI’s exacerbate bipolar and send the sufferer (funny word, really) flipping out into mania. So, now that my bipolar has been pushed over from taking a little bit of work and mental agility to manage, to being very extreme (thankyou medication) I’m stuck in the never ending cycle of mood stabilisers for the ups (which I really can’t manage at the moment, really really) and antidepressants for the downs (which exercise and diet doesn’t help with when mood stabilisers are rubbing your nose in the dirt) and around and around we go. Hooray!
I know everyone’s concern about not wanting to discourage mothers from seeking treatment, but really, considering the current situation in health management in the US, do you think this policy will be treated in a healthy and holistic fashion? I mean, it’s the health system that often puts women in the position of PND in the first place with the over-management of birth, now the same system wants to mandate the management of women’s post partum mental health as well? What leads us to believe that they will do a better job with this then they have done with obstetrics?
This paragraph from the bill concerns me the most:
(8) Postpartum depression is a treatable disorder if promptly diagnosed by a trained provider and attended to with a personalized regimen of care including social support, therapy, medication, and when necessary hospitalization.
Social support….. therapy….. medication?! Hospitalisation?! Who decides when hospitalisation is necessary? What happened to all the other parts of the “regimen of care” that should come before medication, because, lets face it, no matter how necessary it may be for some, it is inherently dangerous to put foreign substances in our bodies.
A couple of other things: Amy, I understand and support your position for the most part, but I do see the need for being careful when making comments about the causes behind others mental condition. SSRI withdrawal shows a range of different symptoms to bipolar disorder, and I have the joy of speaking from personal experience having dealt with the discomfort (hmmm… to put it mildly) of both. Bipolar is a very real genetic disorder and can be picked up with both a genetic testing and brain imaging, and for some people (notice the “some”, it’s very important) medication is the only option. The medication is dangerous, unpleasant and completely incompatible with pregnancy. It is very often over diagnosed, as with depression, but that doesn’t discount the reality of the condition, and the need for sensitivity for those who have to deal with it. It’s not all doom and gloom! It has many benefits, too! No, really!
Also, all medications should be considered incompatible with pregnancy. Always. Sometimes it may be necessary to take certain medications during the course of a pregnancy for the sake of the mothers health. But this should be done with a full understanding of the risks to the unborn child. I particularly see the problem with many more mothers starting anti-depressants after the birth of their first child and then continuing to take them during their 2nd pregnancy on advice from medical professionals that the medication is perfectly safe for the foetus. The US already has an extraordinarily high infant mortality rate; how much higher would the effects of antidepressants during pregnancy push it? The implications are disturbing to say the least.
To end on a positive note: whilst I understand the place that medication can play in our health, I cannot stress enough that often we are told that medication is the only way when this is far from the truth. Contrary to what I learned in psychology classes and through my own research, bipolar can be managed holistically, as can many other psychiatric disorders. I know when I was first told that antidepressants were pointless I flew into a rage because they helped me so much when I felt so unfixable and I felt I couldn’t cope without them. Admittedly, the instruction to exercise more and improve my diet and that would fix everything was ridiculous because it takes so much more than that. The point is, I know people will be angry at me for saying it, but I know I’m glad the seed of doubt was planted in my mind because it initiated my search for deeper understanding. So let me just plant a seed of doubt, maybe. Look around, read, listen, observe, don’t fall for every quack that says his book will cure you instantly, but don’t discount every story of recovery without medication. I, personally, am pursuing ayurveda and yoga to get off my treadmill of medication (I have to go slow, I can’t rush my poor old psychiatrist, she’s on a very steep learning curve with me). We each have our own journey to travel towards health and wholeness.
(Gosh that was longer than I intended. I think I need to go to bed.)
February 14th, 2008 @ 8:17 am
Suppose this bill is defeated because the ideas of universal testing and the government getting in between a patient and her medical professional are abhorrent. (Or some other reason.)
What happens then? Those few mothers who do genuinely need meds for PPD, or other mental health problems, can still receive them.
Many of the people with distressing stories of PPD – my heart goes out to you – seem be expressing fears that if this bill goes away all treatment or awareness of PPD goes away too.
It seems to me that a better answer is raised awareness of and education about the symptoms, both for medical professionals and the expectant parents. As a homeschooler, I am dubious that government mandates are the best way to ensure good learning!
I only ever had one very minor and light symptom. It was odd visions of me harming my dd. For example I remember once I picked up the nail scissors to cut my nails and had a vision of me stabbing them into Jayn. They were really surprising, but as it was only visions and there was never any urge to actually do whatever it was, I mentally filed these moments in the “something to not do” box. I became oddly entertained by the bizarre things my brain was doing without me.
From what I am reading now, had I been treated these visions could have become ideations or actualities. Luckily I had learnt quite a lot from my doula, so I knew that this would pass.
February 14th, 2008 @ 9:33 am
I think screening for PPD and offering treatment is a good thing. Not forced treatment, not forced drugs, which I actually did not see mentioned in the bill. (Did I miss that part? It’s possible. I read what I thought was the meat of the bill but did not read every single word.)
February 14th, 2008 @ 11:40 am
I’ve never been moved to post before, though I am a long time reader and subscriber… Just wanted to stand up and give AmyPhilo a big round of applause!
February 14th, 2008 @ 11:52 am
And chalk this up to one more reason to vote for Ron Paul!
February 15th, 2008 @ 2:14 am
I haven’t read the comments just telling my story and giving my opinions.
I do not believe a person should be forced to take drugs that could be harmful. This is a think line we walk when it comes to psychological and mental impairments and a little depression. Manic depression is a druggable disorder. A little sadness and difficultly in life, is not.
With my last pregnancy (baby #7) I did become overwhelmed and depressed. I had CPS called on me for fraudulent charges based solely on homeschooling, and it was a battle I fought alone, as my DH did not agree with me in how to handle the situation. Largely pregnant, defending my right to HS and my right to privacy, fighting with family members who were/are not supportive of our HS choice, etc etc etc .
It’s a wonder to me how I actually kept myself from taking my own life. I swear if I hadn’t been pregnant I just might have.
But when I went in for my shadow OB care visit (I UC’d) I just mentioned I was depressed. Nothing more than “I am feeling a little depressed lately.” That was it. This doctor cared less about the underlying causes, didn’t take the time to listen to me, didn’t even bother referring me to a counselor of ANY kind. He just whipped out the Rx pad and wrote me a prescription for some anti-depressant.
Stupid me filled it for $30. I never took a single solitary pill because the warning labels all over the bottle said “DO NOT TAKE WHILE PREGNANT” Even though I repeatedly asked if taking them while pregnant was safe and the doctor kept answering “yes”.
The warning labels of course warned me! I took my new questions online and researched. I learned of the withdrawals, the possibility of things getting worse before they got better and how the doctor told me I’d need to be weaned off of them or a different Rx given after the baby was born so I could BF.
Now I was pissed off, depressed, and annoyed. But I didn’t take a single pill. I just muddled through life the best I could, knowing that there was a finish line at some point.
Last June/July 2007 was one of the most horrific and depressing months/era’s of my life thus far. After the CPS crap I had minor but painful medical issues.
I really could have benefited more from counseling. Maybe even (novel idea here) a doctor who possibly feigned interest, one who could have shown some compassion instead of pulling out the trusty Rx pad for a quick fix.
I did get some counseling and I told her about this incident and she was infuriated and said it was a gross negligence on the doctor’s part and grounds for medical review. She even said his license should be pulled.
Doctors seemingly just prove how little bedside manner they have and how uncaring they truly are when they’d rather drug their client up than actually take the time to just listen and show some compassion, empathy, or even sympathy.
But could we really expect less from OB’s?
February 15th, 2008 @ 7:50 am
I too “finally” registered to leave a comment. Disclaimers first: I’m a nurse, I’ve worked deep in the belly of the beast both in hospitals and clinics (etc), I am a home birth midwife’s assistant. I had a planned home birth that became a hospital birth that ended in a cesarean birth. I have struggled with depression most my life and it was amplified during my postpartum experience.
I think the biggest issue we need to talk about (regarding everything posted above me) is that ONE SIZE does not fit all when it comes to wellness and health and to make a law that attempts to do this in any way is not going to be helpful. It has yet to be helpful in the big long term picture. It has yet to not create more problems –problems that are often really really complicated. And to create a law that is clearly slanted to the advantage of one form of treatment, while it may help some families — it will not help them all and the potential for more pain is very serious.
Industrialization (one size fits all) thinking has yet to help create all around healthy living. Examples are medicalized births, schools, immunizations and our food system.
There is no law that says hospitals/medical system must evaluate one thing over another unless there is big industry pushing behind it. That should be enough to make us be on the look out.
My heart is broken over the pain that all of us have suffered –we all know many more women who are lost and lonely and don’t know how to find their way out of this. It is often what led us to Hathor to begin with, no?
I just think this really speaks of the bigger issues. Humans need to tap into their knowing, they need to eat better, move better, laugh more, sit less, touch more, drive less, talk more, be out side more, and help one and other. We need community. We need connection. We need to care for one and other.
Mothers need to be treated as if they are gods/goddesses as they have sat in the doorway to the divine and brought a piece of it to this earth when they gave birth. The power in those moments for women are minimized and discarded — how would one not feel worthless, invalidated and deeply deeply sad.
The way women are treated while they are pregnant, in labor, and during the post partum time and raising their babies is appauling (for the most part). I am speaking of what is physically done or not done — interventions, drugs, ignoring the female intuition and knowing etc. The inability to acknowledge that medical interventions set off a cascade of chemical reactions or avoidance of those reactions in women is a disservice that I fear will have far reaching effects — it has already had far reaching effects. Our grandmothers, to our mothers to us and now… who is next, our children’s children?
What is expected of women/mamas and what women/mamas expect of themselves (outside of being present for their children) sets up a cascade of stress and depression that can lead to serious problems.
This bill does nothing to address those issues. Like all prescriptions that are written — it is a crap shoot that the chemical combination will eliminate the symptom/s without producing further symptom/s (re:side effects) that are more complicated and problematic to deal with.
My mother’s whole life shifted in a better direction when she went on antidepressants (I was a teenager) but her healing was just a bump up and her life (her mood really) has been pushed toward happiness ever so slightly and she can get out of bed everyday and put one foot in front of another but she is not happy. She is not joyful. And she doesn’t not live a deeply satisfying life. Her health has had a cascade of problems complicated by all the medications she is on. And her suffering still continues.
Her brother suffers from depression complicated by PTSD from being in Vietnam. His diagnosis list is longer then I can put here. His journey is the same as her with anti-depressants and many other medications. He suffers more regularly with dips back down into his ‘darkness’.
Neither has done anything to shift the cause/the root of these layered painful issues/symptoms. Are they better off having been put on meds? Are their lives better? They are still alive. They have not physcially killed their children. But the relationships they have with their children are dead or held together by strings.
My self, I have chosen couseling type therapies, life style changes (food movement laughter), spiritual changes (connecting with my diviness) and building community that honors my knowings. I have had more joy in the past two to three years then I’ve had in most of my life. I still have times without joy but they do not own me, they are part of me. There is a beautiful rhythm to all of this for me now.
My son was born in 2001 — two weeks before 9/11 and I was unable to even conceive of a reference of what a joyful life might look like as he grew up. I know I am blessed and not everyone has had this outcome.
As a nurse I was taught that mental health is just like any other health issue. I would never tell anyone to stop taking their insulin if they were diabetic I should have the same attitude toward antidepressents. But now we know that diet and movement directly effect diabetes and not everyone needs insulin. We know that children who are born to mothers who have certain life styles and breast feed them have minimized their chances of getting diabetes. We know that pharmaceautical companies are making millions of dollars selling a certain story about diabetes to americans. Why would mental health be any different? There will be part of the population that really benefits from a chemical reaction that is man made. Most of us do not.
Thanks for listening to another side of a very important issue. I don’t think I have THE answer. I just know I have lived a large part of THE story.
February 15th, 2008 @ 8:09 am
Thank you to everyone for caring about this issue. And I have to comment now because reading the last comment I just had to say a great big DITTO.
My OB appt to get drugs was set up for me by a nurse who came to visit me at my house on day 5 postpartum. At postpartum day 6 I went in for my *emergency* visit to him. I had high blood pressure and was extremely worried about Isaac. I didn’t want anyone holding him besides me or Joel. Instead of getting to talk to my ob, within LITERALLY one minute in his exam room he stopped me short to ask “what did the home health nurse say”
I replied that she said I was too anxious and I needed drugs
So what did he do, he got me a sample pack of Zoloft. Conveniently he had REMOVED the warning label. He said to start at 50 mg (25 I think is the lowest dose) and told me there were no side effects in the baby and that it would make the baby happy too. (NOT KIDDING)
He also prescribed clonipin for panic attacks. I never had another panic attack and I decided against taking it anyway after talking to the pediatrician.
However when I got better by stopping Zoloft and told all of my docs (except the OB who by that time refused to deal with the Zoloft treatment because he wasn’t an expert) they simply said “this drug has helped millions of people”
It’s as though they approve of babies being murdered by their mothers because of a treatment they prescribed or approved of!
Incidentally the rate of bipolar disorder has shot up 4000% in recent years because of SSRIs which actually cause bipolar disorder even if you never would have had it otherwise.
The campus shooting last night was the fourth in one week.
Meanwhile in England and Wales, suicides are down to the lowest leel in 30 years among youth males because antidepressant prescriptions there have dropped by half.
Everything except Prozac is illegal there for young kids (I think under 18).
The first warning label I ever got was in the psych hospital.
Also I want you to know that mood stabilizers also double the risk of suicide, and this might be worse for epileptic patients (they are actually anti-seizure meds). Recent studies on these drugs proved they were far less effective than placebo.
See:
http://www.uniteforlife.org/englandwales.htm
and
http://www.uniteforlife.org/socalledmoodstabilizersdoublesuicide.htm
Thank you to Heather for the FREE HUGS video! I loved it and put it on my sites as well – babywhys and UNITE… just look for the picture on the border to see more if you ever visit them.
last I just wanted to say that when I told my doc I DID NOT want a birth control IUD he said I should not have any kids any time soon, I told him no anyway. At that time I did not know that birth control can cause low milk supply. But I refused anyway because I was aware of other risks of birth control and I didn’t want something stuck in my uterus
He then told me I should take Zoloft for a year or longer and even during pregnancy… what a jerk. He said “it’s safe for pregnancy”
Two days after that 6 week checkup he called to tell me that I had severe hyperthyroidism. He had refused to check at my 6 day appt. when I asked.
A while after I moved away from MN and back home to TX, I got a letter from his office stating that he had some “mysterious disease” that none of the docs could figure out, so he was temporarily going on retirement.
I wonder if any of his doctors told him his theories might be “garbage” during his quest for help. That is what he told my mom when she told him that the Target pharmacist confirmed that the Zoloft I was on was probably causing the problems of suicidal and homicidal urges.
He said “That’s garbage. That pharmacist has no business interfering in treatment plan for a patient she knows nothing about”
This from the OB who saw me maybe 5 times before I gave birth, and maybe 3 after.
February 15th, 2008 @ 8:24 am
greanmama: Right on!
I also feel we are more inclinded (as a society) to pop a pill then do the real work it takes to get better (not saying at all that sometimes pills are the answer).
I, too, am a nurse and I see what all the medications do. How we don’t push health but pills as a solution. Our system of caring for people is seriously lacking. That is why at times it is had for me to continue on as an RN. My personal belief system is so 180 from what I do when I am at work.
My own mother is on a long list of medications for anxiety and depression. While looking up what other things she could do, I found things to help myself, but she would hear nothing of the other stuff she still takes her pills, but also drinks. She can’t seem to get how this doesn’t work well…. ok so this has gone off topic. LOL Not at all trying to imply that anyone here who is taking medication is also not doing other things… just that our system doesn’t push the other stuff first. Encougae a better diet, and movement and finding something that brings you joy and giving you someone to talk to who will listen to you and not think… “She needs a pill for this”.
I also agree with how women are treated during pregnancy and birth SUCKS! We are treated like a bag that is holding the prize instead of us being the prize. Just think about anyone who has had a C-section “JUst be happy you have a healthy baby” instead of allowing the mom to morn the loss of her birth. How we dismiss breastfeeding and encouge a bottle, how we push women back to work (those who wish to stay home), our whole system is set up on money and people are just a second thought (if at all) forget feelings, emotions, health…
Heather in Tucson
February 15th, 2008 @ 12:20 pm
antidepressents didn’t ’save my life’
Having a child did! Its better than any high there is!
February 15th, 2008 @ 1:35 pm
Who actually read the bill in it’s entirety? I did, and though I’m against prescribing unnecessary medications, I was not bothered by the bill. It does not say anything about making it mandatory to receive the testing or to take the medications. It really just recommends more funding and education for PPD diagnosis and treatment. It will still be optional for a mother to take part in it and a mother can always refuse medication.
February 15th, 2008 @ 1:49 pm
Gosh it’s sad that so many of you have had such lousy experiences with your doctors. I understand that feeling of being dismissed by docs – I remember an orthapedic guy I saw (once)for a back problem who really left me feeling cold. I also began my pregnancy with an OB that I ended up not liking, then through a long story of serendipidous twists ended up with the nice guy I have today. He spends time and really listens, and has helped me with a couple of other non-gyno health matters also. He followed my desires in the delivery room. He did thyroid tests for me after I researched when he was asked. He calls and talks over test results himself, rather than having a nurse do it. Plus he has a great sense of humor.
Caveat Emptor: If your medical professionals are leaving you feeling unloved, give them the brush. You are paying for their services.
February 15th, 2008 @ 2:59 pm
I just had to come back to add that I just found out that the committee meeting which was supposed to take place yesterday was cancelled / rescheduled. They are not sure when yet, but I am pretty sure that the Senators are off work all next week for a President’s Day Recess (maybe back to work on Friday?)
I will come back later to give you a URL of a petition, if I can get one up today I will. In the mean time, please take the time to CALL the senators (21 of them) on the committee and / or fax them, email them, whatever to stop this!
I guarantee you this is going to be a nightmare.
I also heard (can’t remember if I said this yet) that in NJ where they have the country’s first statewide MANDATORY screening for PPD, they also have a PPD hotline… and women who called it were being picked up at their homes by the cops and taken to the hospital!!!! I need to find out if this is true. All those who aren’t scared of this, you should be!
And why is it that you don’t care about a government effort to increase prescriptions for Antidepressants which have an FDA-confirmed doubling of the rate of suicide?
The Valentine’s day massacre we saw yesterday was caused by prescription drug withdrawal. Anyone who has been through a horrific withdrawal from a drug, you know what that means.
See: http://uniteforlife.org/campusshooting4.htm
Also see this:
http://uniteforlife.org/englandwales.htm an article which proves what the FDA already warned about.
Following a drop in prescriptions for SSRIs in England and Wales for young males, their suicide rates fell.
If you are not against this bill what that says to me is that you are in favor of the government promoting SSRIs to the public.
If you understood that is going to increase suicide, murders, rampages at malls, etc. then maybe you wouldn’t be so in favor of the bill.
WHY IS IT OK for the government to spend tax dollars promoting a drug that INCREASES suicide (much less pharmaceuticals in general).
Are you really ok with drug-induced murder, infanticide, etc.?????
February 15th, 2008 @ 3:01 pm
http://uniteforlife.org/mothersactupdate.htm#contact
That is the list of contact info for all 21 senators.
There is a downloadable excel spreadsheet there, except as of this second it is missing the first two numbers from the site, Judd Gregg and Edward Kennedy.
February 15th, 2008 @ 4:09 pm
AMY! I have not been able to access the ProMom discussion forum (it’s down, right?), and I’ve missed you so much! Please tell me where I can go to keep in touch with you, as I am in love with the work you do – what a tireless activist you are. I want to keep doing all I can to help – my babies being grown up doesn’t mean I don’t want to keep supporting breastfeeding and pregnancy and moms in every way possible.
I am so so glad I came across this and that you’re here
February 15th, 2008 @ 4:39 pm
Here is the petition:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-the-dangerous-and-invasive-mothers-act
I would like to get a million signatures so please repost. Your help is needed to stop this bill, I cannot do it by myself.
Also PLEASE call the Senators on the HELP committee or email them to ask them to stop this.
February 15th, 2008 @ 5:21 pm
When you call Clinton and Obama, tell them that you will vote in the primary or the general election based on how they vote on this bill. Same goes for the next election for the Senators (gee I hope I have someone left to vote for!)
February 15th, 2008 @ 5:22 pm
Annie, go email me at amyphilo@yahoo.com and you can also join the yahoo groups. I have missed ProMoM too. I think the forum is supposed to be back up eventually!!! They had a snafu.
February 15th, 2008 @ 5:25 pm
Share your knowledge! Join our yahoo group at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/babywhys/
CLICK HERE TO PRINT OUT A SIGN UP SHEET TO GET YOUR FRIENDS TO JOIN THE YAHOO GROUP! =)
this is from http://www.babywhys.org
Here is the UNITE one:
Please visit the following site to view and join our yahoo group: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/uniteforlife
from
http://www.uniteforlife.org
I could really use your help Annie!! (and everyone)
February 16th, 2008 @ 4:22 pm
flyer:
http://uniteforlife.org/flyermom.htm
also on the main page of UNITE for download
February 17th, 2008 @ 9:48 pm
I’m in Illinois, and I understand both Durbin and Obama are behind this. So instead of asking them to withdraw the whole thing, which they can’t do while saving face, I read the proposed legislation, http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:S.3529: and found the language that would infringe on freedom. Here’s the letter I wrote to them.
Dear Mr. ________,
I read with concern the following language from the proposed MOTHERS Act:
S. 3529
Chapter II Sec. 520K(c)(1)(C)
“If the results of such screening provide warning signs for postpartum conditions, the new mother shall be referred to an appropriate mental healthcare provider.”
I have suffered and successfully recovered from severe mental illness myself in earlier years. Additionally, my wife, a happy mother of four, has gone through post-partum depression and recovered after a struggle.
Our treatment through conventional means was intensely counterproductive. Treatment through removal of root causes, holistic and alternative medicine, and practicing our faith were all major factors in our successful recoveries.
Many aspects of this legislation contain sweeping generalities that I believe are dangerous for the families that go through mental illness. But this language in particular steps over the line into legislating a decision which absolutely must remain a personal choice in a free society.
I thank God that there was no language requiring a certain course of action when we went through our struggles. This is wrong, and I demand that you withdraw your support for this language.
I appreciate the concern for mothers you have shown by supporting this bill. But surely we must preserve mothers’ freedom while we give them avenues for help!
February 20th, 2008 @ 8:48 am
Just doing some more resesarch (ouch, I just can’t relax on this!) and I found something VERY disturbing:
According to the people at Teen Screen (a non-mandated screening program in schools supposed to find suicidal students and get them help) – 90% of people who take their screening test go on to get a PRESCRIPTION
Now take that and imagine it exploding because of a government MANDATED screening of every new mommy, picture the parallel with hospital birth and trusting your doctor / nurse on that, and what we are going to see is SCARY.
If anyone in America wants to be free of this, they will be in the minority, like those of us who home birth are. We are looked at as crazy for birthing naturally, even vaginally! Imagine a world where you are thought of as CRAZY if you don’t take Prozac.
I think that world could be on its way if we don’t stop this bill.
Most of the people who are quick to defend the drugs are also ON the drugs and from my personal experience, this means that they’re not objective at all. I couldn’t even make a good decision about them or think clearly enough to understand whether or not they were helping me for weeks after I finally stopped. They totally cloud your judgement and take over your mind. That is why they are called MIND-ALTERING drugs.
February 22nd, 2008 @ 9:18 am
One last thought… the issue for me isn’t that they want to help screen new moms for PPD but that if you refuse whatever treatment they think you should take they will try and take your children and there by force you into whatever treatment they think you need. And considering how pill happy our mainstream culture is it would probably be a medication instead of some alternative that might be better for breastfeeding or heck just something better for the mom. Not everyone wants or needs a pill to feel better, just talking to someone or help around the house (wuith no strings attached) or company who might whip up dinner and do the dishes. Natural methods abound but are pretty rarely sought in our culture.
Heather in Tucson
February 25th, 2008 @ 7:44 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQW23XCmOCw
A video of my story…
If you have not signed yet, please sign tonight!!!!!
I am faxing the signatures tomorrow to Senator Kennedy…
Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQW23XCmOCw
March 8th, 2008 @ 1:32 pm
I don’t think anyone should be forced to be screened or forced on meds, unless it truly is a dangerous situation (IE, someone who would otherwise need to be committed).
It’s very scary.
I’m bipolar and while I appreciate very much what my meds do for me, I felt that it was in my daughter’s best interest (the only one of my 3 children I carried AFTER the diagnosis and the the only one of my kids where I did NOT suffer from ppd after the birth) to listen to my OB-GYN and my psych who said that the best thing for me to do was to go as med free as possible.
I stayed off my meds through my whole pregnancy. Unfortunately, as I’d already tried the natural methods and milder meds, I knew that I had to make the horrible choice of breastfeeding or my sanity.
I would love to see some safe alternatives for women – not suffering only from ppd or even depression – who are battling more severe mental problems like bipolar disorder, schizophrania, and the other related problems that are safe to take while breastfeeding and even while pregnant (for those who just can’t manage more than the first or second trimester without their meds).
I still (even though it will have been 4yrs since I gave birth to her on March 15) feel incredibly guilty that I had to make the choice I did and give her formula. It was horrible. After having loved nursing my first son, fighting to nurse my second, then failing miserably due to lack of supply and him getting dehydrated and nursing him for 2 and 3 hours at a time, it was horrible to have my breasts so full of milk so quickly, to know I could have nursed her physically, but that I would have had to make myself so miserable and possibly detrimental to my kids.
It took so long to get my diagnosis… so many wrong ones, so much thinking that I was just wrong in thinking that I was just not handling it right… that I was the oddball of people who couldn’t control their feelings and emotions and impulses… to find that balance and feel normal… it was so wonderful.
Yet, I still have the dreams of nursing her, I still feel guilty about it. It’s still something discussed in therapy.
I’d love to know any advice anyone might have on this one…. because I’m almost afraid to contemplate a fourth child, no matter how much we would love him/her, because I don’t think my heart could take formula feeding another baby….. unless (like with my second son and having lactation consultants, the league, and everyone around me helping to try to make it possible) I was SURE it was the only way.
I look at my daughter and she’s healthy and beautiful, intelligent and funny… I praise GOD for that… but I know what breastmilk can do. I’ve seen it turn my 4lb preemie firstborn into the 95th percentile in height and weight that he got to be by age 2. I know the power it has and the wonderful effects it has even after the child weans himself.
I hate that my daughter didn’t get that.