Post partum depression is often underdiagnosed. New mothers don’t seek help for a variety of reasons or fail to notice the symptoms of PPD. Health care providers have limited contact and women often put on a brave face, which prevents diagnosis in some cases. Researchers in England may have discovered the key to better diagnosis for women. Studies conducted in England involved training health visitors to recognize the signs and symptoms of post partum depression. The study looked at over 4,000 new mothers in England. The mothers were identified by the health care visitors. The women were divided into two … Continue reading →

Post partum anemia is a relatively common problem. According to research by the Guttmacher Institute, approximately 27 percent of women experience post partum anemia. The condition may be diagnosed shortly after your baby’s birth or later at the post partum visit. Fatigue is the most common symptom of post partum anemia. All new mothers are tired, but most are feeling better by the post partum checkup. Women with post partum anemia are still exhausted at the six week mark. If you are still experiencing extreme tiredness and it is affecting your ability to go about your daily routine, mention it … Continue reading →

Whether you have had a baby before or this is your first, you have probably heard of a doula. In general, the role of the doula during labor and birth is to support the mother and her partner, advocate for the woman with health care staff and help keep the birth moving according to the mother’s birth plan and personal wishes for her birth experience. But, have you heard of a postpartum doula? This group of doulas specializes in offering care for new mothers and their families after the baby is born. The general idea isn’t new. Nurses have been … Continue reading →

Whether or not they lost hair during pregnancy, most women will experience some degree of hair loss after the baby is born. This can occur from one to five months after delivery. Three months post partum is the average time for the most noticeable hair loss. The reasons for this hair loss are similar to the reasons for most side effects of pregnancy: your hormones. Gradually over the weeks and months following your baby’s birth, your hormone levels will return to normal. Shedding hair is one of the side effects of this shift in hormones back to the pre pregnancy … Continue reading →

Most of us envision a blissfully happy time, cuddling our new bundles of joy after the long months of pregnancy. This happy picture is especially common if you have wanted a baby for a while. However, a new survey of women shortly after giving birth paints a very different picture of the days after the baby arrives. The survey was conducted by Childbirth Connection, an organization devoted to improving the quality of care during pregnancy. The survey was conducted twice, once about the child birth experiences of the women. The second was conducted six months later and looked at the … Continue reading →