Posts Tagged ‘postpartum wellness’

Part One: Recovering from birth trauma

Betty was feeling very down, anxious and disconnected. She had given birth to her third child just twelve weeks ago! Her new baby was a joy. He was beautiful and perfect. And so much work as well!  Betty had never missed sleep so much in her life! He was her second baby, her first son. She thought she should feel very happy.  But she just felt empty. There was so much work to do, so much laundry and so much responsibility!  She was crying often and felt distant from her family: her baby,  her other child  and her husband.

She felt happiness sometimes, but often felt removed from her life, like she was standing outside her body.  Her husband researched some therapists she could try to see close to her home. At the urging of her husband and her mother, she called three and settled on someone who was trained in perinatal mood disorders and trauma therapies.

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Spring was a great time for Women’s Reproductive Health events in New Jersey. I was fortunate enough to attend and also was invited to present at La Leche League of the Garden State’s Annual Conference in Jamestown, New Jersey. I also went to an event hosted by St. Clare’s Hospital and the Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey.

I had so much fun meeting and seeing some virtual colleagues/friends, such as Ruth Callahan and Colleen White at LLL and Ivy Shih Leung and Irina Polanco-Ventura at St. Clare’s, and of course meeting new ones! Apparently, St. Clare’s has a kick-ass postpartum depression group. I was so glad to get pointers on getting my group in Wayne, NJ going to be as kick-ass as that one!

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