Katie Corcoran Found!

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Not only did the Internet help find Katie Corcoran, one of my readers also gave me a heads up that she had been found. Upon verfiying the information posted by a Hartford, CT news station (WFSB) and hoping that it is indeed true, I am happy to share with you the wonderful news!   

Thank you to everyone who helped spread the word.

Katie Corcoran has been found and is at home with her family.

See news link here: http://www.wfsb.com/news/14574843/detail.html 

We are celebrating with her family!!!!!

 And Katie – we are all pulling for your continued recovery!

Medicating During Pregnancy

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I know I’ve blogged on this topic prior to today but I wanted to draw attention to the topic again, following in the footsteps of Katherine Stone. She posted at her blog about The painful decision to medicate during Pregnancy and shares her feelings regarding her decision to medicate during her second pregnancy.

For me, having gone through a prior pregnancy after a severe bout of untreated postpartum depression and then relapsing as seriously as I did, staying on my meds was not a difficult decision. Like Katherine, I too knew the risks and had access to lots of educated opinions as well as studies. I knew the risks of stopping my meds as well and what potential that held in store for myself and my family. Not only would I be risking relapse during the postpartum period, but I risked depression during my pregnancy as well – which can lead to premature birth. My second daughter was born three and a half weeks early – and I was suffering from untreated depression. Untreated because I didn’t realize it and I am really good at covering things up.

So when this pregnancy reared up and bit us in the butt, we knew it was going to be an uphill battle. I was already on meds, already in therapy, and doing well but knowing I was facing another pregnancy scared the living daylights out of me. So we decided to stay on meds. It wasn’t even an option to go off them. Thankfully my OB fully supported my decision and has continued to stand behind me. We have not had any issues, no major defects were detected at our 20wk u/s, and things have progressed just fine. I pray that they continue to do so and that our son is born happy and healthy. I also pray that I won’t relapse this time.

Hoping for the best but definitely prepared for the worst!

8 month OB appt today

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Just the usual weight check, bp, urine, and fundal height, and baby heartbeat stuff today. Everything was just fine and we chatted a bit about when I go into labor. Let me just say – I LOVE MY OB.

Because I’ve already given birth twice and had an unusually long labor last time, he is fine with me doing most of my laboring at home with a few exceptions – obviously if my water breaks or labor goes faster than in the past this time around. he doesn’t want me to show up dilated to 10 and ready to push. (And frankly, I’d prefer not to have that happen either!) I told him we’d have to talk my husband into letting me do most of my laboring at home – he is afraid labor will progress faster and he is NOT delivering the baby at home or in the car. LOL. Again, not my idea of what I’d like to have happen either. But on the flip side, I don’t want to spend 30 something hours in the hospital in labor again either.

100 Postpartum women needed for research!

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(Note to other bloggers: Please post this at your blog as well to help with this important research!)  

The Postpartum Stress Center announces the second phase of our research project!

WE NEED YOUR HELP

To All PPD Advocates:
As many of you know, I have been collaborating with a research team at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine who have expertise in postpartum distress and scale design. We have performed an initial statistical analysis on a new postpartum distress scale. 

At this stage, we would like to re-test our proposed scale items, along with established measures, such as the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale  (EPDS).

We need approximately 100 postpartum women (with babies up to 12-months old) to complete this phase of the study.  I am hoping that you will post a link to the questionnaire, which is offered online, for your members or your clients, to help us further validate this measure.

Below you will find links to the survey that you can copy and paste into emails or your websites.

As always, thanks for your participation.

-Karen Kleiman, MSW
For an e-mail link to the survey, copy and paste:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=buxYKYtfEAHnSfb5wJSJwg_3d_3d

To place the link on your webpage, copy and paste:

<a href=”http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=buxYKYtfEAHnSfb5wJSJwg_3d_3d”>Click Here to take survey</a>

To enter the survey from here, click on the link:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=buxYKYtfEAHnSfb5wJSJwg_3d_3d

_______________________________________________________

THE POSTPARTUM STRESS CENTER
www.postpartumstress.com.

Providing support, counseling and education to women and their families who experience difficulties related to pregnancy, pregnancy loss and the postpartum period.

The Postpartum Stress Center was founded in 1988 by Karen Kleiman, MSW.  The Center was established to provide a better understanding and comprehensive clinical intervention for perinatal mood disorders.

Finding Hope on the Farm

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I get email updates from NAMI and through a reprint of an article, “Home on the Farm: Working Therapeutic Communities,” appearing in a recent issue of Schizophrenia Digest, I discovered a really cool farm in MI called Rose Hill Center.

Rose Hill Center is dedicated to the rehabilitation of those suffering from mental illnesses, focusing on schizophrenia and bipolar disorders and was founded by the parents of a young man named John who was diagnosed with schizophrenia in his mid 20’s. While trying to find a group home for John, they became very disappointed in what kind of help was available for their son and through a visit with a farm in Connecticut, they began to raise funds to start a similar farm in MI. The farm encourages responsibility and independence by involving the residents in the running of the farm – from animal care to kitchen duty. The article is extremely well written and what they are doing on this farm is absolutely amazing. I realize it is not postpartum related but I had to share this story with you. I would LOVE to one day operate a farm similar to this one for women with postpartum struggles – the major reason the article caught my attention.