Postpartum III – Misery and Moms
Are you struggling with feelings of failure, fear, or depression? Get help! It’s not only for you that you are getting help, but also for your baby. Scandinavian researchers who worked with depressed moms and their babies published their results in 2001, finding that there were differences in the baby’s brain wave patterns, an increased risk for social difficulties, and they described babies as “more likely to have an insecure attachment, or a secure attachment with restricted joy.”
Dr. Cheryl Tatano Beck, a nurse researcher at Yale New Haven, described moms in her research in a “spiraling down” dimension: “these women tended to ruminate over feelings of failure as mothers, fearing they or their babies would be harmed, wondering if they would ever feel normal again, constantly worrying about the baby. These women self-silenced and isolated themselves as they felt others wouldn’t understand.”
What are our resources here in Brattleboro?
- Talk to someone in your family – your partner, husband, sister, a trusted friend. They are probably already worried about you – help them help you!
- Call your doctor or midwife. If you can’t do it, have your helper do it. Get an appointment or at least a referral for someone they trust, to help you.
- Call Family Solutions at 257-4555. Loren Cole is an experienced therapist who specializes in the emotions and mental health of childbearing women.
- It Takes a Village is a group of area volunteers who can help with housework and give you someone to talk to. Free Post partum support via volunteer home visitors. Contact: Lucinda McGovern at 802-257-0663 or write debrasilverstein@yahoo.com for an application or visit them on Facebook.
- New Moms Network at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital meets on Wednesday mornings from 930-11 AM. See us on Facebook or check out the events calendar here on the BMH website.
- In Bellows Falls, visit the Playgroup at the Baptist Church with Tracy Binet-Perrin 802-258-1673.