Anti-depressants and breastfeeding

There have been several new moms visiting this blog who have shared their concern about taking anti-depressants while breastfeeding. There are so many mixed messages on this out there -- doctors saying that it's perfectly fine, that moms need to take care of themselves first in order to take care of their babies; or that there is a risk, but it's so minimal to not really count. Then there are those who say that even a minimal risk is still a risk, so why risk it?

A recent study came out from the New England Journal of Medicine that concluded that women do not increase the risk of birth defects in their babies by taking anti-depressants while pregnant or breastfeeding. And yet it also stated that "drugs such as Celexa, Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft may increase the risk for certain defects, but, even then, the absolute risk is extremely small." AND it also stated that "even if a certain drug increased rates by a factor of four, the risk of having a child affected by the problem would still be less than 1 percent."

Confused??

Bottom line, and what no one seems to be talking about, is the fact that this study was funded by a few pharmaceutical companies, including GlaxoSmithKline, the manufacturer of Paxil.

Hmmmm.... what does that tell you?

In any case, when I was pregnant, I would never have entertained the thought of having even a single glass of wine, much less a drug that hasn't been completely tested in children, let alone infants. I don't know, but it seems like common sense to avoid anti-depressants while pregnant and breastfeeding.

What do you think? I'd love to hear about your own experience with or without medication.

Run or walk 5K to help spread PPD awareness!!

Get your athletic shoes on .... the 5th annual PPD 5K Run/Walk is coming up on Saturday, September 22 at Hampton Park in Charleston, South Carolina. To register, you can simply click on the link about halfway down the righthand column of this page. If you can't make it out there for the event, please consider sending a donation to this fantastic cause. The event's sponsor, the Ruth Rhoden Craven Foundation for Postpartum Depression Awareness, is dedicated to provide info and support to women suffering from PPD and to serve as a resource to the medical community. To find out more about this wonderful foundation and its truly extraordinary founder, Helena Bradford, go to http://www.ppdsupport.org/.

When you have a subsequent pregnancy

When I was pregnant with my fourth baby, I was pretty nervous about possibly going through another bout of PPD. I'd had such a horrible crash after my third and I'd heard all of the dismal statistics on how common it is to have a repeat PPD experience. But I was determined to beat it. The difference between my third postpartum and my fourth was knowledge. I was empowered by knowing what to expect, being aware of my PPD symptoms and preventive measures that I could take to avoid them.

So, I made a list of everything I needed to have in place so that I could experience the kind of postpartum that every mom envisions -- you know, where you're glowing and healthy, constantly cooing over your baby and relaxing pristinely in your designer maternity loungewear and talking to your friends about how to lose those extra ten pounds.

Okay, so maybe no postpartum is close to that vision, but still, it is possible to have a relatively peaceful and happy postpartum, even with your fourth baby, and even when you've previous suffered from PPD, because I did it.

The key to my last, successful postpartum was having a strong support system in place. Since our extended family is so spread out geographically and I didn't have the luxury of having relatives to lean on, I brought in a postpartum doula to help me for three weeks after our baby was born. Doula is a Greek word and means "woman who serves." A postpartum doula can help in so many ways, basically being a post-birth helper. My doula helped with the baby at night, watched over my C-section incision as it healed, helped identify any symptoms of PPD, handled the laundry, cooking, watched the baby when I needed to spend time with my older children, but most importantly, she listened to me and helped me gradually get back on my feet. She and I were a team and that support was priceless. She stressed that I need to take of myself and recover so that I could take care of my new baby and the rest of my family. Paying for a postpartum doula was the best money that my husband and I have ever spent.

One of my dreams for all new moms in the future is that they all can have the choice of having a postpartum doula.

If you're looking for a doula in your area, feel free to e-mail me and I'll help you find out your options; kdavispark@gmail.com.