As members of the MomSquawk community, we are hardly strangers to the amazing benefits of peer support during so many of the trials and challenges of motherhood. We share so much of ourselves and our lives, knowing we can depend on others who have been through similar things to come through for us with advice or even just a reminder that it will get better.

But did you know that peer support and counseling might even combat postpartum depression (PPD, also known as the “baby blues”)?

A new study (one of two PPD-related studies mentioned in the article) found that women at high risk for postpartum depression who received counseling by phone from other moms who had gone through PPD were less likely to develop PPD themselves. Wow!

In this case, 701 women who were at high risk of postpartum depression were randomly assigned to standard postnatal care or to standard care plus telephone support from women who had experienced postpartum depression themselves.

The researchers found that women who received peer support were 50 percent less likely to develop postpartum depression 12 weeks after giving birth than were women who didn’t get the support. In addition, more than 80 percent of the women who got telephone support said they would recommend this type of support to a friend.

The other study in the article also noted that women who received “talk therapy” or counseling after delivering, whether they were high risk for PPD or not, were 40% less likely to develop postpartum depression than women given only standard postnatal care.

New mothers, whether it’s their first baby or their fifth, need support. I don’t know a mom out there who wouldn’t wholeheartedly agree with that statement. It’s reassuring that the medical community seems to be more readily acknowledging that and going further to research the best ways of providing that much-needed help.

If counseling in some form — yes, even (especially?) by a fellow mom who has already battled PPD — were to become part of the standard procedure in postnatal care, I am certain that fewer women out there would struggle with postpartum depression in silence, alone.

That special bond with your baby… Doctors, in trying to understand postpartum depression, have been looking into that special mommy-baby bond and why it can break with depression. They have located a place in the brain that distinctively drives parents to nurture their child.

The idea goes back to Darwinism. Taking care of our young for the species to survive. In tests, they showed adults pictures of adults, and when there was a picture of an infant there was a specific reaction in the brain. The reaction happen so fast if it not possible to have conscious control over it. Next step is to link this with people suffering postpartum depression to assess any correlation.

Old names regaining popularity? At least for boys names it appears that parents often choose a classic. The Today show site has listed the most popular baby names, per decade, since 1900. the results are interesting.

I was somewhat surprised that the boys list contained many names that are “classic” and still often used today, like John, William, James, Charles, Robert, Joseph. Some girls names didn’t fare as well… Florence, Ethel. Also surprising to me was that in 2000, most of the boys names (9 out of 10, Tyler was the odd one out) were biblical in origin. Jacob, Michael, Matthew, Joshua, Christopher, Nicholas, Andrew, Joseph, Daniel, and Tyler.

In any case, I always enjoy looking at baby names. Especially when it is not MY baby that is being named!

Teen births on the rise. For the first time in over a decade, the number of teen births is rising. Over the past 15 years, the number of teen births (ages 15-19) had decreased by 34%. Parents, educators and policymakers are hopeful that this years figures are just a one-time blip. Also interesting to note, CDC reports that cesarean deliveries accounted for 31% of all births, a record high.

One good thing about getting your period… Researchers have determined that menstrual stem cells could be useful in treating diabetes, multiple sclerosis and cirrhosis of the liver. Advantages to this are there is much less ethical controversy in obtaining these cells, and it could be collected over a period of many years. Let’s hope researchers can prove this to be useful.

How desperate are you to conquer your PPD? Some women are going to extreme measures to cure theirs. They are eating their own placenta. This is technically is called placentophagy. The placenta can be ingested in many ways. It can be fried up and eaten, or dried and ground into a powder to be ingested. If you are interested in this yourself, here is a link to some yummy placenta recipes.

Update on Usher. He has announced the name of his new baby son… Usher V (the fifth).

Smoking and postpartum depression: The urge to push followed by the urge to light up? You might be depressed, researchers say. Smoking and depression often go hand-in-hand for new mothers. Studies found a major postpartum depressive episode was 46% higher among smokers, and the prevalence of smoking was 33% higher in those who had depression.

Retro toys are better: Temple University researchers say that old-fashioned simple toys such as building blocks and rubber balls are better than their new-fangled electronic counterparts. Unlike electronic toys which direct play, these toys allow children to use their imagination and problem solve.

A day of doubles: A LaCrosse, Wisconsin OBGYN delivered four sets of twins during a 24-hour call shift over the Thanksgiving weekend. Dr. Kenneth Merkitch said he doesn’t believe he’d even delivered two sets of twins on a single call shift prior to this event. Merkitch also delivered one singleton that day, making for a total of 9 deliveries in 24 hours.

CPSC and Congress at Odds: Nancy A. Nord, the acting chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, has asked Congress to reject legislation that aims to increase funding and personnel at the CPSC, among other goals. Ms. Nord’s specific complaints include an objection to the proposed raise on the cap for penalties from $1.8 million to $100 million, which she feels would cause companies to flood the agency with every consumer complaint and incident. Ms. Nord also feels that a complete ban of lead in toys would be impractical.

PPD and Talk: Via Postpartum Progress, Dr. Leigh Ann Simmons highlights a study that finds that talk therapy and support groups can be effective at helping women through postpartum depression. In this study, the investigators reviewed 10 clinical trials that included nearly 1,000 women. The trials tested psychological and social interventions that included cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), counseling, and peer support groups facilitated by a health care professional. They found that women who received any of the psychological or social therapies were 30% less likely to have depressive symptoms within one year after giving birth compared to women who received postpartum care as usual. Additionally, peer support groups appeared to be just as effective as formal psychological care, such as CBT, which is great news for moms who can’t afford a weekly trip to a therapist.

Got a phone? Get involved!

BlogHer, Postpartum Support International (PSI), and Postpartum Progress are joining forces and asking that you and I take action to help the MOTHERS Act advance to the Senate floor with the support of as many Senators as possible.

The MOTHERS [Mom’s Opportunity to Access Health, Education, Research, and Support for Postpartum Depression] Act aims to ensure that new mothers and family members (as appropriate) are offered screening and treatment for postpartum mood disorders, and to expand and focus research at the National Institutes of Health on postpartum mental health issues.

I am pleased that the text of the legislation includes the following, which might offer someone unfamiliar with the subject matter some perspective on how postpartum mood disorders are still taboo topics for so many new parents, and how very destructive they can be, and not just for Mom:

All too often postpartum depression goes undiagnosed or untreated due to the social stigma surrounding depression and mental illness, the romanticization of motherhood, the new mother’s inability to self-diagnose her condition, the new mother’s shame or embarrassment over discussing her depression so near to the birth of her child, the lack of understanding in society and the medical community of the complexity of postpartum depression, and economic pressures placed on hospitals and providers…

Untreated, postpartum depression can lead to further depression, substance abuse, loss of employment, divorce and further social alienation, self-destructive behavior, or even suicide…

Untreated, postpartum depression impacts society through its effect on the infant’s physical and psychological and cognitive development, child abuse, neglect or death of the infant or other siblings, and the disruption of the family…

The MOTHERS Act is currently in the Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee of the Senate. If a majority of those committee members support the proposed legislation, it will move into the Senate proper. If enough Senators know that this legislation is important to their constituents, it should progress relatively smoothly from there.

If you would like to see this legislation passed, call your Senators today to voice your support for the MOTHERS Act. Postpartum Support International has a list of Senators’ phone numbers and a handy script for those of us who get a little tongue-tied on the phone. If your Senator is already a co-sponsor of the bill, PSI recommends that you call anyway to express your thanks.

I’m a fairly well-educated woman, fairly self-aware, and I had a nice support system in place when I became a mom, but still I was completely blindsided by postpartum OCD. According to the American Psychiatric Association, postpartum depression affects around one in ten new mothers. Postpartum mood disorders with psychotic features affect between one in 500 to 1000 new moms. This is not a small problem. It’s time for us to get postpartum mental health disorders out of the closet and give those affected some solid treatment options.

Please, if you support the MOTHERS Act, pick up the phone now.

Posted by MommaSteph.

Breastfeeding Law: MPs in Australia who also happen to be new moms will now be allowed to nurse their babies in the New South Wales’ Parliament. Speaker Richard Torbay announced that he is permanently changing the rules to allow women to breastfeed in the chamber. This is a first for Austrialia’s legislative chambers. In 2003, MP Zali Steggall was kicked out of the Victoria Parliament for attempting to nurse her 11-day-old baby.

PPD Legislation Update: Last week, the Melanie Blocker-Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act, aimed at providing more funding for the study of postpartum mood disorders, passed in the House of Representatives, 382-3. The bill now moves to the Senate. According to the American Psychiatric Association, postpartum depression affects around one in ten new mothers; postpartum mood disorders with psychotic features affect between one in 500 to 1000 new moms. You can read more about Ms. Blocker-Stokes here.

PPD Legislation: Seconding the congratulations offered by Katherine at Postpartum Progress to Rep. Bobby Rush, who, after six years of campaigning, has finally seen his Melanie Blocker-Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act move out of the Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection (pause for breath), where it received unanimous support.

Next step: The House floor for a vote.

The proposed law would require the National Institutes of Health to put more resources into researching postpartum depression and psychosis, as well as providing more support for women affected by the disorders. According to the American Psychiatric Association, postpartum depression affects around one in ten new mothers; postpartum mood disorders with psychotic features affect between one in 500 to 1000 new moms.

You can read more about Melanie Blocker-Stokes here.

More News on Depression: A new study published in The American Journal of Psychiatry finds that approximately one in seven new mothers is identified as having depression either before, during, or after pregnancy. “The fact that [depression] is similar between those 3 time points reinforces the fact that depression is something that happens relatively commonly in reproduction-aged women and can be exacerbated during pregnancy,” said Dr. [Evelyn P.] Whitlock.

Vaccine Research:  A University of Rochester study finds that the new combination vaccines for infants that get the recommended vaccines into a two-month-old in three shots are as safe and effective as the roster that requires five pokes. The study followed 575 healthy babies at 22 sites nationwide. While there was more swelling and soreness at the injection site with the combination vaccine, in none of the babies did side effects require an extra doctor visit. “Vaccine opponents may liken the process of the body processing simultaneous vaccines to a computer running too many applications; the machine grows slow, and the programs, one by one, begin to terminate,” [Dr. Michael] Pichichero said. “But those fears are unfounded; we have found no evidence that a child’s body is at any point approaching a maximum threshold as far as learning to produce immune responses.”

I love my kids to pieces, but whoever told me that going from 0-1 was harder than from 1-2 was apparently from a planet where babies are born self-sufficient. Having two kids fairly close in age can be tough, even on a good day. Here are my tips for surviving those first few months (geared toward families with an infant and a toddler):

Consider sleeping in shifts. My husband works second shift; he’s rarely home before 2am. My son sometimes screams from 7pm-midnight. Six weeks ago, neither one of us was getting more than three or four hours of sleep, and we were both miserable. (That, and if he pretended not to hear the baby crying at 4am one more time, I was going to invest in a cattle prod and a branding iron!) We sat down and talked about what we could do to maximize sleep for both of us. Now, he takes the baby’s night wakings - I realize this may not work for breastfeeding mothers, although if your baby will take a bottle, you could perhaps pump in advance for overnight feedings) - and I get up at six or so with both kids. He gets up around noon and gives me an hour or two of rest before he leaves for work. We are both much happier!

Housekeeping (or not). With a newborn and another small child to care for, your house probably isn’t your top priority right now. Still, it’s frustrating to deal with a messy living space on top of everything else. You don’t have to spend a ton of time cleaning every day in order to get things looking decent again - take our Martini Challenge, courtesy of the new Domestic Divas board. A ‘Tini Challenge is a mini-cleaning project you can do in fifteen minutes or less, and new challenges are posted daily Monday through Friday.

Let your other child(ren) help. Small children get jealous of their new siblings and have trouble expressing those feelings, so you’re likely to see some acting out from them. That can be hard to deal with when you’re also juggling your newborn’s needs. I’ve found that if I can include my two-year-old daughter in whatever I’m doing with the baby, she’s less likely to pitch fits and is more interested in what we’re doing instead of focusing on the fact that Mommy isn’t playing one-on-one with her. She hands me clean diapers or his bottle (I leave it on her table once I’ve made it and go to pick him up) or a burp cloth, and she loves to choose his clothes.

Nip frustration in the bud. As soon as you feel that “ARGH!” building up inside, take a step back and consider the situation. If you just plain need a break, put the baby and your other child in safe places and take five minutes to regroup. Remember that a little crying won’t hurt anyone (including you - go ahead and let it out if you need to; you’re not alone!), and a quick recharge does a lot of good. If you’re calm, it’s easier to calm everyone else down!

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. This one is twofold. Take people up on offers to watch a kid (or both of them, hallelujah!) for a few hours. More importantly, be aware of your own emotional state. Postpartum depression doesn’t always show up right away, and it doesn’t always manifest itself as sadness, anger, or destructive thoughts (though these are definitely signs, especially when they don’t go away or keep recurring). If you constantly find yourself feeling “blah” or numb/distant, even toward things you normally like, you may have PPD. Ask for help - call your OB. Admitting you need help doesn’t make you a bad mom - just the opposite, in fact! You deserve to enjoy your children’s childhood days as much as they deserve an emotionally healthy mom. (If you are having destructive thoughts - thoughts of harming yourself, your baby, or your other child(ren), please seek help right away!)

This too shall pass! As rough as some of these early days may be, it won’t be like this forever! Try to focus on the positives (your baby’s chubby legs, his first smile - even if it hasn’t happened yet, your older child’s abilities, etc.) and keep in mind that these days are fleeting.

Posted by Sunshining.

Kids’ Art Kits Recalled for Lead: The CPSC announced a recall of Imaginarium wooden coloring cases, sold at Toys R Us stores for about $20 each, because the printed ink on the outer packaging contains lead, and some of the black watercolor paint contains excessive amounts of lead. Consumers should take the kits away from children and return them to Toys R Us for store credit.

Pregnancy Stress: A survey of over 1,100 UK women, conducted by the charitable organization Tommy’s, found that for many, stress and pregnancy go hand in hand:

• Almost two per cent of women developed an eating disorder.
• One in five worried that they might not love their baby.
• Almost a third were concerned about developing post-natal depression.
• More than a quarter said that changes to their body was the biggest cause of stress.
• Seventeen per cent were stressed due to pressure in the workplace.
• Forty-one per cent were worried about money.
• Nearly one third felt stressed about eating the right amount and types of food.“

Much pregnancy stress is brought on through what many women consider to be “taboo” topics, such as depression and worries over bonding with the baby. Because suppressing feelings can cause anxiety to worsen, an OB who works with Tommy’s advises women to discuss their worries:

Suppressing concerns during pregnancy can contribute to the development of pre-natal depression, which can be damaging to both mother and baby…In the vast majority of cases, whatever thoughts or concerns they may be having, nearly every other pregnant woman will have been through the same thing, and so they shouldn’t worry that they will be demonised for having perfectly normal feelings.”