I am beyond excited about Monday night’s #PPDChat, y’all!!!

We’ll be chatting with none other than the fabulous Dr. Samantha Meltzer-Brody and Dr. Alison Stuebe, both with UNC’s Perinatal Psychiatry Unit. This is a ground-breaking program here in the United States for women struggling with Perinatal Mood Disorders. They are currently focusing on research which examines the biology behind the relationship behind depression and breastfeeding. Dr. Stuebe writes:

“I’m happy to report that I’m a doctor, and I do think of this — in fact, at UNC, we’re starting a 5-year NIH-funded study to try to understand the relationship between breastfeeding, postpartum depression, and infant attachment.  Our pilot data suggest that this relationship is complicated. We recruited 52 women who were intending to breastfeed and either did or did not have a history depression and/or anxiety. During pregnancy, mothers provided baseline blood samples, completed questionnaires, and had a standardized psychiatric interview to assess their history. Mothers came to our lab with their babies at 2 and 8 weeks postpartum, and we measured hormone levels while they breastfed their babies.”

For those of us who have been through a Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorder, we know that the relationship we have with how we feed our babies is a tough one. There are so many factors to consider. Dr. Meltzer-Brody & Stuebe are investigating this further and have graciously agreed to share their experiences and insights on Monday.

I sincerely hope you will be able to make it to chat because it will be a great one!

You can read more about Dr. Samantha Meltzer-Brody & Dr. Alison Stuebe by clicking on their names. Be sure to follow them on Twitter (usernames are in the announcement above) before the chat!