Motherhood doesn't always match our expectations. For many new parents, the journey brings unexpected emotional challenges. In fact, CDC research shows that about 1 in 8 women with a recent live birth reported symptoms of postpartum depression. And that's just one of a multitude of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders that can develop during pregnancy and persist for up to three years after delivery.
That's where ChristianaCare's Center for Women's Emotional Wellness comes in. Psychologists Malina Spirito and Spencer Paige Brown join us to share their insights on the number one complication of childbirth, discussing how one parent's mental health can have a ripple effect through the entire family, along with the warning signs that family members should be on alert for.
With early intervention, these issues are highly treatable. Don't wait until things feel "that bad" to seek help. Listen now to take the first step towards reclaiming the joy in your parenting journey.
Malina Spirito, M.Ed., MA, is a licensed psychologist at the ChristianaCare Center for Women’s Emotional Wellness, specializing in support for women before, during, and after pregnancy. Dr. Spirito provides consultations, assessments, and treatment to women and their families regarding perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.
Spencer Paige Brown, Psy.D, MS, brings her passion for working with patients from marginalized backgrounds to her role as a dedicated and empathetic licensed psychologist. In her current role as a clinical psychologist at the ChristianaCare Center for Women’s Emotional Wellness, she specializes in treating and supporting adult patients with a range of mental health needs that arise before, during, and after pregnancy.
Links:
- ChristianaCare Center for Women's Emotional Wellness
- ChristianaCare News - Veronica’s Story: The Art of Making Moms a Priority
- Postpartum Support International
- CDC Symptoms of Depression Among Women
- Perinatal Depression - National Institutes of Health
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders are the number
one complication of childbirth.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
You're listening to For the Love of Health, a
podcast about delivering careand creating health, brought to
you by Christiana Care.
Hello everyone, I'm JasonTokarski.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
And I'm Megan McGerman.
Welcome to For the Love ofHealth brought to you by
Christiana Care.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
According to CDC research, about one in eight
women with a recent live birthreported symptoms of postpartum
depression.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Postpartum depression is just one perinatal mood and
anxiety disorder.
To dive deeper into this topic,we're joined by psychologists
Melina Spirito and Spencer PageBrown from Christiana Care
Center for Women's EmotionalWellness.
Melina and Spencer, thank youboth so much for being here
today.
Thank you, we're thrilled to behere.
Thank you for having us.
Let's start by laying thegroundwork.
(00:53):
There are a lot of differentterms that we may discuss today
that have to do with postpartum.
What are the terms that areconsidered part of perinatal
mood and anxiety disorders?
Speaker 4 (01:05):
Yes, there are several.
The first one would be like thebaby blues postpartum
depression, postpartum anxiety,postpartum OCD psychosis and
postpartum anxiety.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Mood disorders and bipolar as well.
Right, yes?
Speaker 3 (01:20):
And I think, unless you're actively experiencing one
of those or have a loved onewho is half of those terms
you've probably never heard of,especially never talked about,
why is it so important thatwe're having this conversation
today?
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Exactly what you just said, the fact that there's
such a range of disorders thatcan impact folks during the
entire perinatal time frame.
That can impact folks duringthe entire perinatal time frame,
so that goes from the time ofpregnancy all the way up through
one to three yearspost-delivery, postpartum and
too often our society hasn'ttalked about this enough at all.
But definitely what we usuallytalk about is postpartum
(02:00):
depression and fail to recognizethat there's a range of
disorders that can impact people, especially anxiety, as Spencer
mentioned.
It's something that often goesoverlooked and can be really
really scary for folks and atthe same time, unfortunately,
because it doesn't get talkedabout and people don't recognize
that these truly can bedisorders that can be treated,
(02:23):
people walk around thinking thisis normal, which really has a
harmful impact on what theirparenting experience is like
when they think this is normaland it's terrifying and I hate
it Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
And, melina, you said one to three years
post-delivery.
Is postpartum really that largeof a time frame?
Speaker 4 (02:42):
Yeah, it really can be Obviously like symptoms can
emerge and then continue toexacerbate throughout.
That entire time frame Doesn'tmean that it will typically last
up to three years.
We see women get better withina few couple of months, but for
some women it does last up toabout three years.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Especially if they don't get help earlier on.
So we do know that these aredisorders, challenges, that are
highly treatable.
So if somebody gets into thetreatment that they need, they
have a much better shot ofgetting well quicker.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Some of this seems a little newer to me, and I say
that from someone that my kidsare both in their late teens at
this point.
You know, baby blues yes, Iheard about that, but some of
these other things I don'trecall hearing about when my
wife was pregnant with ours.
So how prevalent is this?
What are some of the statisticsabout how many people are
seeing this and acknowledging itcompared to, you know, just a
couple decades ago?
Speaker 1 (03:33):
I can't tell you how many times people will come into
our office for treatment andwill say you know, as I've been
talking to my family members, mymom or my aunt has acknowledged
that she thinks she had thistoo.
So it's always been around, itjust wasn't acknowledged, it
wasn't talked about.
I think lots of folks areshocked to find out that,
generally speaking, one in fivewomen will experience perinatal
(03:58):
mood or anxiety disorder throughpregnancy and the first year
postpartum so that's 20% ofpeople and one in 10 dads and
partners will year postpartum.
So that's 20% of people and onein 10 dads and partners will
experience it as well.
In fact, to put that intosimple terms, perinatal mood and
anxiety disorders are thenumber one complication of
childbirth, which is really huge.
(04:18):
When you think about in theobstetrical world how much
emphasis we place on things likehypertension and gestational
diabetes and preeclampsia, thereality is that perinatal mood
and anxiety disorders accountsfor more than all of that.
And would you?
Speaker 3 (04:33):
say things like preeclampsia make the mood
disorders worse.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Oh, it's definitely a major risk factor, and it can
go in reverse as well.
If a person has depression oranxiety in pregnancy, it is
certainly a risk for drivinghealth concerns like
hypertension, poorly regulatedblood sugar, things like this,
and vice versa.
So it's why I think it's soincredibly important that we're
(04:58):
addressing both the physicalcomponents of a pregnant
person's health as well as theirmental health components of a
pregnant person's health as wellas their mental health.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
And, when you think about it, pregnancy is a whole
life transition.
Whether it's emotionally,physically, socially, it impacts
the whole spectrum and so withthat, when we think about just a
normal transition intomotherhood, about 85% of women
experience the baby blues, and alarge part of that is due to
(05:25):
that transition into motherhoodand then also the hormonal
changes that occur duringpregnancy and postpartum as well
.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
And exact opposite, kind of to Jason.
I have a three and a half yearold and an eight month old, so I
am clearly to our to ourdefinition of postpartum earlier
.
Still in the thick of it, andthis is something that you know
many of the new moms that I'mfriends with we have these kind
of conversations a lot.
How do you see this just beinga more open and honest
(05:52):
conversation and how do youthink that's really helping the
new moms of today?
Speaker 4 (05:57):
Well, I really think that a lot of the younger moms
are on social media and I thinksocial media is a really great
platform to get a lot of goodinformation from, and I think
when women start to talk aboutwhat their concerns are in an
open platform, it reallydestigmatizes a lot of their
concerns and they can find a lotof good connection with other
(06:18):
women who are struggling andgoing through the same things
that they are as well.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
I just recently had a session and a patient shared
something that I thought wasreally cool.
She was reflecting on meetingwith a friend of hers who
recently delivered a baby and mypatient I'd been working with
her for a number of yearsthrough a number of hers who
recently delivered a baby and mypatient I'd been working with
her for a number of years,through a number of pregnancies
and children and she was able tosay, wow, looking at her, I see
(06:46):
how far I've come in terms ofthe anxiety that I was
struggling with and I feel likeI'm able to see her struggle and
I want to help her and I'mrecognizing how for so long, my
anxiety was almost like alifestyle that I had become
accustomed to and now I feellike I've been able to flip that
script and I'm so much morepresent and able to enjoy my
(07:09):
kids and able to support theother moms that I'm friends with
when I see them struggling.
Because, she said, I very muchsee in her what I was going
through.
The same things that she isworrying about are the things I
worried about that today I seewere taking me away from what I
really wanted to focus on as amom.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Because these perinatal mood and anxiety
disorders impact everybody.
Speaker 4 (07:33):
It definitely can be like a ripple effect within the
family.
So, for example, with a mom whois struggling with postpartum
depression, that may impact herability to care for her baby,
feel connected to her baby.
If she has older children, thatmight impact her ability to
engage with that older child,leaving that older child to feel
neglected.
It may also impact the marriage, the relationship with her
(07:56):
partner.
If your partner is not doingwell and is struggling nine
times out of 10, you maystruggle and not really do well.
It definitely is a large rippleeffect throughout the whole
family.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
To your point, spencer.
When we look statistically atthe breakdown of relationships
marital relationships, parentingrelationships that first year
postpartum, after the deliveryof a first baby, is the highest
rate of when we seerelationships dissolve.
So it just speaks again to thatripple effect and the
importance of people parentstaking care of themselves and
(08:28):
addressing when something's notright.
When something's not feelingright, what can we do to get a
handle on it.
Speaker 4 (08:34):
And also the leading predictor of paternal depression
is maternal depression, and soif mom is not doing well, then
partners may not be doing welleither.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Talk to us a little bit about the Christiana Karish
Center for Women's EmotionalWellness.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Center for Women's Emotional Wellness has been
around for 12 years now.
We started as a tiny littlethree-person practice providing
outpatient psychotherapy andinpatient consultation for our
obstetrical units.
Today, we've grown a lotmedication management as well as
(09:14):
our inpatient consultations, aswell as consultations
throughout all of our women'shealth practices and the broader
community.
One of the cool things aboutour program is that you do not
have to be a ChristianaCareobstetrical patient in order to
receive psychiatric orpsychotherapy services with us.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Obviously, I know this is the Christiana Care
Center for Women's EmotionalWellness, but if we're talking
about parenting, do you approachpaternal mental health in the
course of this as well?
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Very proud to say that now we do.
That's been a big piece of ourevolution over the last 12 years
.
One of the newest developmentsfor the Center for Women's
Emotional Wellness is that weare opening ourselves up to
providing more services for dadsspecifically.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
What kind of success have you seen there, because I
think a lot of the fathers are.
I'm good, you know.
I think that's even more of astruggle than talking to that
postpartum mom and having heradmit that she needs, you know,
someone to talk to.
What kind of success are youseeing when these dads say you
know, I could use some help too.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
I mean, when we do have a father that does come in,
I think he's usually veryreceptive to kind of learning
about how to support his partner, how to support his wife or the
mother of his child, and so wetend to see that it goes really
well when we include them wetend to see that it goes really
(10:41):
well when we include them, and Ithink recently we are seeing a
growing number of men that areaware of how birth trauma or
perinatal loss and grief hasimpacted their own well-being,
and so I am seeing a largernumber of folks that are open to
coming in for their owntreatment, even if it's not so
much about their wife.
(11:01):
It's about wanting to come inand take care of themselves so
that they can be present fortheir family.
We're seeing more of that todaythan we have over the last
decade.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
We talked about how, when Jason was a new parent 20
years ago, none of this wasreally discussed.
I have my own littles now andit's becoming much more of a
common topic.
Where do you hope it goes 10,20 years from now?
Where is room for more growth?
Speaker 4 (11:29):
in this space.
My hope is that women continueto talk about their struggles
openly in pregnancy andpostpartum, continue to seek
care, continue to connect withother women who are struggling.
I think when we build thatconnection up and build that
support up, I think that womentend to have a lot of success.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Absolutely, and with regard to health care, I want to
see us continue to grow in ourpresence within the women's
health field.
I think that we've made greatstrides already, but there's
still a lot more room to growfor bringing mental health care
directly into the OBGYN women'shealth care office, and we don't
(12:12):
need to wait until there's aproblem.
I think if we can monitor thisand make this a routine part of
our health care, we can stayahead of this.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
So, for the new parents who are possibly going
through this, what should theybe looking out for?
What are some of the warningsigns that they should have an
eye out towards that might wantto make them reach out to you.
Speaker 4 (12:34):
So if your partner is experiencing like a lack of
interest, not bonding with thebaby, feeling sad, feeling
overly anxious or overwhelmed,not sleeping is a really big
warning sign, not just due tothe baby not sleeping.
But mom is just up worrying allnight, can't focus, always kind
of checking on the baby in themiddle of the night.
(12:54):
Those are some warning signsthat you know things may not be
going well.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
I think every symptom that Spencer has mentioned,
especially the sleep one, weknow is huge, but sometimes
qualitatively, what I'll say toa person is just, is this
feeling like what you wanted itto feel like?
Are you enjoying this parentingexperience in the way that you
wanted, or does something feeloff?
If something feels off, it'sokay to say so and it's okay to
(13:21):
ask for help.
I always tell people you don'tneed to wait until it's that bad
.
A lot of times people will say,well, I didn't think it was
that bad, so I didn't come inearlier.
I tell people it doesn't needto be that bad.
If something feels off, speakup and you can come in, because
we can get you well.
So I want people to come in assoon as they feel like
(13:42):
something's off.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
I love that because I think there's a spectrum to
this and I think a lot of womensay I mean I'm not great, but
it's not, it's not that bad.
Like I don't, I can make thiswork, it's okay.
But you, you don't have to waituntil you're really in the dark
, absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
I couldn't agree more and I don't know why in our
culture, for so long, womenespecially have said well, it's
not that bad.
We're allowed to ask for help,especially because the help is
available.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
And it's just okay to not be okay and to be able to
come in and talk to someoneabout things not being okay,
absolutely, melina and Spencer.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
thank you so much for your time, thank you, thank you
.
More information on ChristianaCare Center for Women's
Emotional Wellness are on theshow notes for this episode.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
You can always keep up with For the Love of Health
on social media.
Just search Christiana Care onyour favorite platform.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
We'll be back in two weeks with another great
conversation.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Until then, thanks again for joining us For the
love of health.
Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders are the number
one complication of childbirth.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
You're listening to For the Love of Health, a
podcast about delivering careand creating health, brought to
you by Christiana Care.
Hello everyone, I'm JasonTokarski.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
And I'm Megan McGerman.
Welcome to For the Love ofHealth brought to you by
Christiana Care.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
According to CDC research, about one in eight
women with a recent live birthreported symptoms of postpartum
depression.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Postpartum depression is just one perinatal mood and
anxiety disorder.
To dive deeper into this topic,we're joined by psychologists
Melina Spirito and Spencer PageBrown from Christiana Care
Center for Women's EmotionalWellness.
Melina and Spencer, thank youboth so much for being here
today.
Thank you, we're thrilled to behere.
Thank you for having us.
Let's start by laying thegroundwork.
(00:53):
There are a lot of differentterms that we may discuss today
that have to do with postpartum.
What are the terms that areconsidered part of perinatal
mood and anxiety disorders?
Speaker 4 (01:05):
Yes, there are several.
The first one would be like thebaby blues postpartum
depression, postpartum anxiety,postpartum OCD psychosis and
postpartum anxiety.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Mood disorders and bipolar as well.
Right, yes?
Speaker 3 (01:20):
And I think, unless you're actively experiencing one
of those or have a loved onewho is half of those terms
you've probably never heard of,especially never talked about,
why is it so important thatwe're having this conversation
today?
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Exactly what you just said, the fact that there's
such a range of disorders thatcan impact folks during the
entire perinatal time frame.
That can impact folks duringthe entire perinatal time frame,
so that goes from the time ofpregnancy all the way up through
one to three yearspost-delivery, postpartum and
too often our society hasn'ttalked about this enough at all.
But definitely what we usuallytalk about is postpartum
(02:00):
depression and fail to recognizethat there's a range of
disorders that can impact people, especially anxiety, as Spencer
mentioned.
It's something that often goesoverlooked and can be really
really scary for folks and atthe same time, unfortunately,
because it doesn't get talkedabout and people don't recognize
that these truly can bedisorders that can be treated,
(02:23):
people walk around thinking thisis normal, which really has a
harmful impact on what theirparenting experience is like
when they think this is normaland it's terrifying and I hate
it Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
And, melina, you said one to three years
post-delivery.
Is postpartum really that largeof a time frame?
Speaker 4 (02:42):
Yeah, it really can be Obviously like symptoms can
emerge and then continue toexacerbate throughout.
That entire time frame Doesn'tmean that it will typically last
up to three years.
We see women get better withina few couple of months, but for
some women it does last up toabout three years.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Especially if they don't get help earlier on.
So we do know that these aredisorders, challenges, that are
highly treatable.
So if somebody gets into thetreatment that they need, they
have a much better shot ofgetting well quicker.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Some of this seems a little newer to me, and I say
that from someone that my kidsare both in their late teens at
this point.
You know, baby blues yes, Iheard about that, but some of
these other things I don'trecall hearing about when my
wife was pregnant with ours.
So how prevalent is this?
What are some of the statisticsabout how many people are
seeing this and acknowledging itcompared to, you know, just a
couple decades ago?
Speaker 1 (03:33):
I can't tell you how many times people will come into
our office for treatment andwill say you know, as I've been
talking to my family members, mymom or my aunt has acknowledged
that she thinks she had thistoo.
So it's always been around, itjust wasn't acknowledged, it
wasn't talked about.
I think lots of folks areshocked to find out that,
generally speaking, one in fivewomen will experience perinatal
(03:58):
mood or anxiety disorder throughpregnancy and the first year
postpartum so that's 20% ofpeople and one in 10 dads and
partners will year postpartum.
So that's 20% of people and onein 10 dads and partners will
experience it as well.
In fact, to put that intosimple terms, perinatal mood and
anxiety disorders are thenumber one complication of
childbirth, which is really huge.
(04:18):
When you think about in theobstetrical world how much
emphasis we place on things likehypertension and gestational
diabetes and preeclampsia, thereality is that perinatal mood
and anxiety disorders accountsfor more than all of that.
And would you?
Speaker 3 (04:33):
say things like preeclampsia make the mood
disorders worse.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Oh, it's definitely a major risk factor, and it can
go in reverse as well.
If a person has depression oranxiety in pregnancy, it is
certainly a risk for drivinghealth concerns like
hypertension, poorly regulatedblood sugar, things like this,
and vice versa.
So it's why I think it's soincredibly important that we're
(04:58):
addressing both the physicalcomponents of a pregnant
person's health as well as theirmental health components of a
pregnant person's health as wellas their mental health.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
And, when you think about it, pregnancy is a whole
life transition.
Whether it's emotionally,physically, socially, it impacts
the whole spectrum and so withthat, when we think about just a
normal transition intomotherhood, about 85% of women
experience the baby blues, and alarge part of that is due to
(05:25):
that transition into motherhoodand then also the hormonal
changes that occur duringpregnancy and postpartum as well
.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
And exact opposite, kind of to Jason.
I have a three and a half yearold and an eight month old, so I
am clearly to our to ourdefinition of postpartum earlier
.
Still in the thick of it, andthis is something that you know
many of the new moms that I'mfriends with we have these kind
of conversations a lot.
How do you see this just beinga more open and honest
(05:52):
conversation and how do youthink that's really helping the
new moms of today?
Speaker 4 (05:57):
Well, I really think that a lot of the younger moms
are on social media and I thinksocial media is a really great
platform to get a lot of goodinformation from, and I think
when women start to talk aboutwhat their concerns are in an
open platform, it reallydestigmatizes a lot of their
concerns and they can find a lotof good connection with other
(06:18):
women who are struggling andgoing through the same things
that they are as well.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
I just recently had a session and a patient shared
something that I thought wasreally cool.
She was reflecting on meetingwith a friend of hers who
recently delivered a baby and mypatient I'd been working with
her for a number of yearsthrough a number of hers who
recently delivered a baby and mypatient I'd been working with
her for a number of years,through a number of pregnancies
and children and she was able tosay, wow, looking at her, I see
(06:46):
how far I've come in terms ofthe anxiety that I was
struggling with and I feel likeI'm able to see her struggle and
I want to help her and I'mrecognizing how for so long, my
anxiety was almost like alifestyle that I had become
accustomed to and now I feellike I've been able to flip that
script and I'm so much morepresent and able to enjoy my
(07:09):
kids and able to support theother moms that I'm friends with
when I see them struggling.
Because, she said, I very muchsee in her what I was going
through.
The same things that she isworrying about are the things I
worried about that today I seewere taking me away from what I
really wanted to focus on as amom.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Because these perinatal mood and anxiety
disorders impact everybody.
Speaker 4 (07:33):
It definitely can be like a ripple effect within the
family.
So, for example, with a mom whois struggling with postpartum
depression, that may impact herability to care for her baby,
feel connected to her baby.
If she has older children, thatmight impact her ability to
engage with that older child,leaving that older child to feel
neglected.
It may also impact the marriage, the relationship with her
(07:56):
partner.
If your partner is not doingwell and is struggling nine
times out of 10, you maystruggle and not really do well.
It definitely is a large rippleeffect throughout the whole
family.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
To your point, spencer.
When we look statistically atthe breakdown of relationships
marital relationships, parentingrelationships that first year
postpartum, after the deliveryof a first baby, is the highest
rate of when we seerelationships dissolve.
So it just speaks again to thatripple effect and the
importance of people parentstaking care of themselves and
(08:28):
addressing when something's notright.
When something's not feelingright, what can we do to get a
handle on it.
Speaker 4 (08:34):
And also the leading predictor of paternal depression
is maternal depression, and soif mom is not doing well, then
partners may not be doing welleither.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Talk to us a little bit about the Christiana Karish
Center for Women's EmotionalWellness.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Center for Women's Emotional Wellness has been
around for 12 years now.
We started as a tiny littlethree-person practice providing
outpatient psychotherapy andinpatient consultation for our
obstetrical units.
Today, we've grown a lotmedication management as well as
(09:14):
our inpatient consultations, aswell as consultations
throughout all of our women'shealth practices and the broader
community.
One of the cool things aboutour program is that you do not
have to be a ChristianaCareobstetrical patient in order to
receive psychiatric orpsychotherapy services with us.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Obviously, I know this is the Christiana Care
Center for Women's EmotionalWellness, but if we're talking
about parenting, do you approachpaternal mental health in the
course of this as well?
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Very proud to say that now we do.
That's been a big piece of ourevolution over the last 12 years
.
One of the newest developmentsfor the Center for Women's
Emotional Wellness is that weare opening ourselves up to
providing more services for dadsspecifically.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
What kind of success have you seen there, because I
think a lot of the fathers are.
I'm good, you know.
I think that's even more of astruggle than talking to that
postpartum mom and having heradmit that she needs, you know,
someone to talk to.
What kind of success are youseeing when these dads say you
know, I could use some help too.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
I mean, when we do have a father that does come in,
I think he's usually veryreceptive to kind of learning
about how to support his partner, how to support his wife or the
mother of his child, and so wetend to see that it goes really
well when we include them wetend to see that it goes really
(10:41):
well when we include them, and Ithink recently we are seeing a
growing number of men that areaware of how birth trauma or
perinatal loss and grief hasimpacted their own well-being,
and so I am seeing a largernumber of folks that are open to
coming in for their owntreatment, even if it's not so
much about their wife.
(11:01):
It's about wanting to come inand take care of themselves so
that they can be present fortheir family.
We're seeing more of that todaythan we have over the last
decade.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
We talked about how, when Jason was a new parent 20
years ago, none of this wasreally discussed.
I have my own littles now andit's becoming much more of a
common topic.
Where do you hope it goes 10,20 years from now?
Where is room for more growth?
Speaker 4 (11:29):
in this space.
My hope is that women continueto talk about their struggles
openly in pregnancy andpostpartum, continue to seek
care, continue to connect withother women who are struggling.
I think when we build thatconnection up and build that
support up, I think that womentend to have a lot of success.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Absolutely, and with regard to health care, I want to
see us continue to grow in ourpresence within the women's
health field.
I think that we've made greatstrides already, but there's
still a lot more room to growfor bringing mental health care
directly into the OBGYN women'shealth care office, and we don't
(12:12):
need to wait until there's aproblem.
I think if we can monitor thisand make this a routine part of
our health care, we can stayahead of this.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
So, for the new parents who are possibly going
through this, what should theybe looking out for?
What are some of the warningsigns that they should have an
eye out towards that might wantto make them reach out to you.
Speaker 4 (12:34):
So if your partner is experiencing like a lack of
interest, not bonding with thebaby, feeling sad, feeling
overly anxious or overwhelmed,not sleeping is a really big
warning sign, not just due tothe baby not sleeping.
But mom is just up worrying allnight, can't focus, always kind
of checking on the baby in themiddle of the night.
(12:54):
Those are some warning signsthat you know things may not be
going well.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
I think every symptom that Spencer has mentioned,
especially the sleep one, weknow is huge, but sometimes
qualitatively, what I'll say toa person is just, is this
feeling like what you wanted itto feel like?
Are you enjoying this parentingexperience in the way that you
wanted, or does something feeloff?
If something feels off, it'sokay to say so and it's okay to
(13:21):
ask for help.
I always tell people you don'tneed to wait until it's that bad
.
A lot of times people will say,well, I didn't think it was
that bad, so I didn't come inearlier.
I tell people it doesn't needto be that bad.
If something feels off, speakup and you can come in, because
we can get you well.
So I want people to come in assoon as they feel like
(13:42):
something's off.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
I love that because I think there's a spectrum to
this and I think a lot of womensay I mean I'm not great, but
it's not, it's not that bad.
Like I don't, I can make thiswork, it's okay.
But you, you don't have to waituntil you're really in the dark
, absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
I couldn't agree more and I don't know why in our
culture, for so long, womenespecially have said well, it's
not that bad.
We're allowed to ask for help,especially because the help is
available.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
And it's just okay to not be okay and to be able to
come in and talk to someoneabout things not being okay,
absolutely, melina and Spencer.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
thank you so much for your time, thank you, thank you
.
More information on ChristianaCare Center for Women's
Emotional Wellness are on theshow notes for this episode.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
You can always keep up with For the Love of Health
on social media.
Just search Christiana Care onyour favorite platform.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
We'll be back in two weeks with another great
conversation.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Until then, thanks again for joining us For the
love of health.
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