Monthly Archives: December 2008

National Pregnancy Registry for Atypical Antipsychotics

I received this announcement in my email this morning and wanted to share it with you. If you or anyone you know can help with this study it would be a terrific opportunity to allow for discovery of the effects caused by these medications.

If you are a pregnant woman between the ages of 18 and 45 and currently treated with one or more of the following atypical antipsychotics:

  • Abilify (aripiprazole)
  • Clozaril (clozapine)
  • Geodon (ziprasidone)
  • Invega (paliperidone)
  • Risperdal (risperidone)
  • Seroquel (quetiapine)
  • Zyprexa (olanzapine)

Register now by calling 1-866-961-2388 and help us learn more about the safety of these medicines in pregnancy.

This study will involve 3 brief phone interviews over approximately 8-months.

The National Pregnancy Registry for Atypical Antipsychotics was developed to obtain information about the safety of atypical (second generation) antipsychotic medications when used during pregnancy.  The primary goal of this Registry is to determine the frequency of major malformations seen after use of atypical antipsychotics during pregnancy compared to what is seen among women who do not take such medications during pregnancy.

For more information about the Registry, please call 1-866-961-2388


Copyright 2008 – Massachusetts General Hospital

A new project – just for DADS!

Ok, ok, so in the interest of full disclosure, I am co-partner in this project. Go check it out already!

ppd-dads-project-logo

New Support Site for Postpartum Dads Launches just in time for the Holidays

The Postpartum Dads Project plans to focus on collecting stories from Dads who have experienced depression themselves or have been with a partner who has experienced a Mood disorder after the birth of a child.

December 5, 2008 – With the goal of getting new Dads to open up about the havoc Postpartum Depression can wreak, the Postpartum Dads Project launches today. The project will also focus on developing a close knit community which would provide Dads a safe haven in which to connect with other fathers with similar experiences.

The project is an outcome of a partnership between Lauren Hale and David Klinker, both Coordinators with Postpartum Support International. Ms. Hale serves as the Co-Coordinator for the state of Georgia while Mr. Klinker serves as the Father’s Coordinator. In June, Ms. Hale featured interviews with Dads and their experiences with Postpartum Depression. Mr. Klinker was one of the Dads featured and this led to further discussion regarding the lack of resources available for Dads.
The Postpartum Dads Project will also be placing emphasis on Paternal Postnatal Depression. This can occur in up to 10% of all new dads. In fact, if a father’s partner is depressed, the father has a fifty percent chance of developing depression himself.

One of the primary goals of the Postpartum Dads Project will be to create a published volume that will include submissions collected through the website. These submissions will be categorized and designed to be read in between calming a fussy baby and watching the game. The development of the website will continue and many of the stories will be found there as well as insights from professionals, tips and hints from other dads who have been in the trenches, as well as the eventual addition of a Dads only forum.

A key addition to the website in the future will be a professionals only area in which professionals will have their own forum and other tools with which to discuss this relatively new area of support.
The Postpartum Project will begin by publishing interviews with Dads and professionals in the know such as Country Music Artist Wade Bowen, Michael Lurie, David Klinker, Dr. William Courtenay and has been granted permission to reprint the interview with Dr. Shoshanna Bennett’s husband, Henry. The Project will also be featured in an upcoming segment at The FatherLife.com.

For additional information on the Postpartum Dads Project, contact info@postpartumdadsproject.org or visit the website at www.postpartumdadsproject.org.

About the Postpartum Dads Project
Lauren Hale and David Klinker are both volunteers with Postpartum Support International. Lauren is very active in Postpartum Peer Support and moderates the iVillage Postpartum Depression Board, runs a local peer support group, writes Unexpected Blessing, a blog dedicated to pregnancy after PPD, and is a stay at home mom of three children. David is the Father’s Coordinator for Postpartum Support International and also runs www.postpartumdads.org. He is strongly dedicated to supporting Fathers throughout the Postpartum Period.

Contact:

info@postpartumdadsproject.org

Lauren Hale, Co-Founder

The Postpartum Dads Project
http://www.postpartumdadsproject.org
###

My Pampered Pregger & Beyond Chat Transcript

The transcript for my chat last Tuesday is now available. Below you will find the introduction and start of the chat. To read the entire transcript, click here. A big thanks to Tiffani for having me and I look forward to continued participation in her site!

The baby’s here, and I’m not doing cartwheels. Instead, I feel worthless, sad, weepy, and irritable and there’s no sign of these feelings going away! Learn how to recognize symptoms of Postpartum Mood Disorders and what to do when it’s more than the blues!

Lauren Hale, founder of PACE & PSI Coordinator for Georgia, will discuss how to prepare yourself, your family, and how to talk with your doctor if things aren’t getting better if your symptoms have gone on for more than a couple of weeks.

Lauren is the owner of Unexpected Blessing, the Founder of PACE, runs a Message Board at iVillage and is sinking her teeth into her newest endeavor, a Project for Dads.

Welcome Lauren!

Lauren Hale: Hi Tiffani! I am so happy to be here today!

Tiffani Lawton: We are so happy to have you here!

Lauren Hale: Thanks. Learning about Postpartum Mood Disorders is so important yet it is one thing that is often forgotten in preparation for childbirth and if it is remembered, it is glossed over quickly, leaving new families floundering in confusion if anything more serious than the blues hits. For instance, let’s say that a childbirth class is being held and there are 20 women in the class. 16 of the women in the class will experience normal emotional fluctuations, termed the “blues”. The blues typically consist of mom crying for no reason or becoming stressed. However, the blues usually fade within two weeks or so and generally don’t interfere with day-to-day living. When an overwhelming sadness, irritability, or new symptoms such as inability to sleep or rest, not taking care of oneself, or if potentially frightening thoughts about hurting oneself or baby start to enter the picture, it is definitely time to seek help.

New Report Indicates that Integrating Mental Health and Physical Health Care Services can Benefit Patients with Depression

A new report released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) of the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) found evidence that people treated for depression in primary care clinics that provide a coordinated set of mental and physical health do better and have fewer symptoms than patients who are treated at sites that just provide health services.

The report entitled Integration of Mental Health/Substance Abuse and Primary Care, also found that patients treated in specialty mental health centers appear to benefit when the facilities offer general medical care. Click here to read the report.

The report was co-funded by HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Women’s Health, and Office of Minority Health, and conducted by the AHRQ-supported University of Minnesota Evidence-based Research Center in Minneapolis.

Mindfulness Therapy just as effective as Anti-Depressants

According to a new study out of the UK, Mindfulness Cognitive Behavorial Therapy is just as effective as Anti-Depressants in treating Depression.

The study involved groups of eight to fifteen people meeting with one therapist for eight weeks. The participants were taught exercises they would be able to practice on their own. Professor Willem Kuyken of the University of Exeter said: “Anti-depressants are widely used by people who suffer from depression and that’s because they tend to work. But, while they’re very effective in helping reduce the symptoms of depression, when people come off them they are particularly vulnerable to relapse. MBCT takes a different approach – it teaches people skills for life. What we have shown is that when people work at it, these skills for life help keep people well.”

You can read the article by clicking here.