Topic: mother health

Baby Blues: 10 Pick-Me-Ups That Help Me Cope With PPD

Go on the "whatever makes you happy" diet.

In no way is this medical advice. These are 10 of the pick-me-ups that actually made a difference in the way I felt during those first few dark, difficult weeks. They didn’t work like some instant wonder drug, but they did a whole lot more for me than the words of wisdom from well meaning but oblivious loved ones. More »

FDA Says That Your Migraine Meds Are Making Your Unborn Children Stupid

The list of things that pregnant women can and cannot do seems to keep getting longer and longer. In addition to keeping your prenatal mits off sushi, tea, and some cheese, you might also want to take a quick gander at your migraine medication.
More »

I Went From A Childless Yoga Hater To A Full On Yoga Mom

I was a few months postpartum when my husband bought me a month of unlimited yoga. It sounded great, but my initial thought was “how can I possibly leave my baby to go do this?” But I knew I had to.

I had been to yoga a few times before and nothing about it really stuck. I was more accustomed to running off my problems. Sitting with them was never something that seemed desirable. More »

Ireland’s Stab At Revamping Abortion Laws Means That Suicidal Women Could Be Forced To Carry Babies Against Their Will

Given that a woman in Ireland was denied a life-saving abortion and consequently died, Ireland clearly needs to revisit their abortion restrictions. Abortion is already illegal in Ireland, reportedly already with a clause about exceptions for life of the mother that is clumsily worded. A new proposal to tighten up those life-saving loopholes is thankfully on the table. Yet, this proposed legislation creates another gaping loophole. A huge one, in which suicidal women who ask for abortions and are denied them could then be tossed into the loony bin to wait out the pregnancy that they tried to terminate. GOOD TIMES. More »

More Doctors Are Recommending Fertility Yoga For Getting Pregnant, Just Like I’ve Been Doing For Years

It was my own experience with infertility that led me to create a program like Longbottom’s regimen. I consider myself extremely lucky — after two years of trying to conceive, I did so without medical intervention. More »

Baby Blues: I’m Trying Hippie Dippie Mood Therapy Instead Of Medication

If my home birth or eating my placenta didn’t give it away, I’ll say it now. I’m a bit of a hippie mom. The “Shit Crunchy Moms Say” Internet video could more or less be a transcript of my life. So when I was struck with postpartum depression a few months ago, the last thing on my mind was medication. More »

Baby Blues: Spending Time Away From My Baby Makes Me Feel Healthier

There was no toddler tugging at my leg. I didn’t have to tread softly lest I wake her up from a nap, either. My daughter’s in daycare, I’m a full-time freelancer again, alone all day in my apartment, and I fucking love it. More »

Absurd Abortion Restrictions Just Make For More Gosnell ‘Screeching’ Aborted Babies In Back Alley Clinics

The horrific case of Dr. Kermit Gosnell of Pennsylvania abusing female patients in desperate need of quick and cheap abortions continues with even more gory details: now a young intern recalling the sound of “screeching” babies born from botched late-term abortions. Ashley Baldwin, then only 15 years old and completely unlicensed, claims that she was illegally giving intravenous medicine, as well as assisting in said abortions. And don’t forget the details of Dr. Gosnell puncturing cervixes and leaving women to die — all amidst cat feces.

You know what these hideous images remind me of? The days before Roe vs. Wade. More »

Study Posits That Popping Antidepressants During Pregnancy Won’t Result In Teenie Tiny Stunted Babies

On the always controversial topic of pregnancy and antidepressants, an admittedly very small study gives mothers suffering from depression a reason to perhaps lay off the guilt. Prioritizing your mental health with antidepressants, should you choose to, may have virtually no impact on your baby’s growth. So you might be able to check that off your list of concerns. Might.

What We're Reading:

Parents Must Decide Whether To Let 17-Month-Old With Cancer Die
Source: The Stir
Mother Forces 14-Year-Old Daughter To Get Pregnant
Source: The Frisky
5 Lies I Told Myself Before I Had My First Baby
Source: HuffPost Parents
Stop Faking It! How To Have Orgasmic Sex
Source: YourTango
Who Is This Newly 1-Year-Old Cutie?
Source: Celebrity Baby Scoop

Baby Blues: The Isolation Of Motherhood Makes My PPD Worse

Motherhood is many things: primal, competitive, loving, complicated, necessary But one of its many definitions doesn’t make itself obvious until you find yourself caring for a little one of your own. In Western culture, motherhood is undeniably, desperately isolating. More »

Baby Blues: I Can’t Be Honest With My Mom About My PPD Because She’s A SAHM Martyr

I’m having a hard time letting go of what happened that day at the mall, when I hesitantly told my parents that I have PPD.

I explained how depression was hindering my ability to really enjoy my daughter. I didn’t ever get a break from her (at this point, I was a SAHM most of the time, and my husband worked 60 hours a week). No one else, including my parents, was willing or available to watch baby regularly so I could get some alone time. It was killing me.

After a few words of sympathy from my dad, my mom’s response was simply, “Just remember, I stayed at home with you girls for your whole childhood, and we didn’t have help from any friends or family. I did it all on my own.”

Conversation shut down. More »

You’re Fat Because You’re Not Scrubbing The Floors Like A Good 1960s Wife — And Irrationally Pissed About It

It’s no secret that we’re a big fat nation. Child obesity may be on the decline but what about the rest of us? Science continues to parse together where we went wrong, whether it’s fast food, our computer-fixated lives, or simply avoiding le gym. But in retracing America’s obesity problem and how it relates to women, researchers are fairly certain that a decline in housework has produced tubby ladies. Oh, but wait, don’t get all “irrational” about it!

Baby Blues: I'm Getting A Part-Time Job To Save My Sanity -- And Therefore My Daughter

If it weren’t for my postpartum depression, maybe I’d be okay with continuing to work exclusively at home. But that’s not my reality. Having depression and continuing to be home 24/7 is a hopeless path for my life. Getting this job may not be a perfect solution, but I can no longer ignore the fact that depression is (and always will) impact the lives of everyone in my little family, and it’s up to me to minimize the negative effects of it More »

I Finally Caught A Break In My Postpartum Depression

I was reluctant to admit it to the world, but it’s a fact and I shouldn’t be ashamed of it: I’m struggling from postpartum depression — a full 14 months after my daughter’s birth. It’s morbid and ironic but the thing keeping me from offing myself is the fact that I’m someone’s mother. More »

Click for more posts

Mommyish