Depression in New Mothers

SKU: 3051
£22.50
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Causes, consequences and treatment alternatives.  This 2nd edition includes the most up to date research on the manifestation, scope and treatments of depression in new mothers.  This book is relevant to health professionals working with pregnant and postpartum women as well as being useful to family members.  This edition contains a new chapter devoted to postpartum depression and breastfeeding.

Author: Kathleen A Kendall-Tackett 
Paperback: 224 pages 
Publisher: Routledge; 2 edition (23 Nov 2009) 
ISBN-10: 0415778395 
ISBN-13: 978-0415778398 
430g

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"This is a very important and necessary book, given that depression is the most common complication of childbirth, affecting on average 12-25% of new mothers. However, it is not an easy book to read, firstly because it contains some harrowing stories (we get no further than page four before learning of the mother who, suffering from postpartum psychosis, drowned her five young children in the bathtub) and secondly because it is essentially a textbook for health professionals, with much medical jargon and extensive research references. However, it is easy to consult, being clearly laid out and containing useful summaries at the end of each chapter, and the language is certainly not beyond the motivated layperson. In the “Overview”, the author, who is a professional psychologist as well as an IBCLC and a mother herself, addresses the myths and reality of postnatal depression (PND), gives a checklist of the main signs and symptoms (useful for distinguishing between transitory baby “blues” and more serious conditions), describes associated disorders and looks at the impact of depression on mothers, their children and the whole family. Rather alarmingly for the mother’s long-term health, research has found links between depression (particularly where untreated) and cardiovascular disease, reduced immunity and general poor health behaviours. Of course there is also an impact on the baby, for whom the effects may be lifelong. How to handle this knowledge is often a very delicate issue, however, as a mother’s belief that her depression has somehow “ruined” her child might in extreme cases drive her to consider infanticide."