Many women feel strongly about being pro-choice or pro-life, but my feelings changed dramatically on the day my choice was taken away. We hadn’t planned for a third baby, but when we learned that I was pregnant in 1985, our whole family quickly became excited about the prospect of a new baby. […] Read more…
Stories
Inferno by Catherine Cho
Read Inferno by Catherine Cho Inferno by Catherine Cho is a beautifully written memoir of postpartum psychosis. It reminded me so much of my own psychosis. Stress and sleep deprivation are common threads that can cause a healthy new mom to lose touch with reality. Catherine vividly describes her struggle to know what is real, […] Read more…
Vote NO on Proposition 115
Because of what happened during my third pregnancy, I’m going to vote NO on proposition 115. Our family, including two big brothers, was anxiously awaiting the arrival of our third child. At about 30 weeks of pregnancy, I started having early contractions. I immediately went to see my OB-GYN, wanting to take every precaution to […] Read more…
Follow Science on Pandemics
Each pandemic is different, but as we debate how best to handle Covid-19, let’s explore a little history of how pandemics have affected mankind over the ages. I found an excellent resource in the first chapter of the book, “Homo Deus” by Yuval Noah Harari. This is a sequel to Harari’s “Sapiens” which has stayed […] Read more…
Maternal Mental Health Heroes
On World Maternal Mental Health Day—May 8, 2020—I’d like to honor two heroes in the field of perinatal mental health. I was thrilled to be on the planning committee for the first World MMH Day in 2016. You can find a link to the 2020 events here, sign a petition for the UN to officially […] Read more…
Setting the Wire – A Courageous and Lyrical Book About Postpartum Psychosis
An “epidemic of silence” about postpartum psychosis has turned into a “chorus of courageous voices.” Please welcome a new and lyrical spokesperson – Sarah Townsend, author of “Setting the Wire, A Memoir of Postpartum Psychosis.” You can purchase a copy through Lettered Streets Press, Amazon or the PSI bookstore. Here are a few lines that […] Read more…
Brave Moms I’m Proud to Know
Being a mom isn’t easy under the best of circumstances. But what if you lost touch with reality and were put on a mental ward shortly after childbirth? For roughly one in a thousand moms, a time that is supposed to be joyful turns into a nightmare. The technical term for moms who lose touch […] Read more…
My Christmas Angel
The holidays are supposed to be a time of joy. But for a mother’s who’s lost a baby, Christmas with an empty crib can be an overwhelmingly sad time. It’s been thirty years, but I still get teary-eyed when I think of my little angel. Our third son, Joshua, was born with are rare congenital […] Read more…
I’m Donating to Postpartum Support International on #GivingTuesday
Sometimes we don’t choose our causes, they choose us. I never expected to have a postpartum psychosis after the birth of my second son. I never expected to lose touch with reality, be taken away from my preemie son in a straightjacket, spend weeks on a mental ward and then claw my way back to […] Read more…
Celebrities Who Share Their Postpartum Struggles
Hats off to Hayden Panettiere for going public about her struggle with postpartum depression. I’m glad she had the courage to get help and the bravery to share her experience with the world. But I’d like to give special thanks to two celebrities who have gone the extra mile to support women and postpartum mental health causes. […] Read more…