The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services wants residents to know that help is available for women who are suffering with postpartum mood issues.
Among the babies born in the United States every year, 35 percent are born from the beginning of June through the end of September. For every eight in 10 births, new mothers will experience at least a brief episode of the “baby blues” — feelings of sadness, anxiety, loneliness, or moodiness — within the first few days of giving birth.
After a few weeks these symptoms typically disappear. When symptoms persist or deepen in intensity, however, they may be a sign of postpartum depression (PPD) or another perinatal mood disorder (PMD).
PMDs include anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorders and postpartum depression. The depression may be mild, moderate or severe.
In New Jersey, women have numerous resources available to help them overcome the effects of PMD. The disorders can be serious, but they are highly treatable. Help is available, and it is important that a mother get the support and treatment needed to recover so that she can enjoy her baby. The first step is to ask for help.
Resources include an informational website, http://www.njspeakup.gov, which provides a comprehensive list of support groups throughout New Jersey, general advice, fact sheets and written and video testimonials about personal experiences with PMD from women, their partners and other family members. In addition, the 24/7 toll-free telephone helpline, 1-800- 328-3838, helps with general questions and referrals to treatment services, support groups and counseling.
In Middlesex County, women may contact the Central New Jersey Maternal/ Child Health Consortium at 732-937- 5437 or the Gateway Northwest Maternal and Child Health Network at 973-268- 2280 for help.
Any woman who has recently had a baby, ended a pregnancy, or who has stopped breast-feeding, can be affected by PMD.
The disorders usually occur within the first year after childbirth, miscarriage or stillbirth, but the signs of depression can also appear earlier, when a woman is pregnant or even planning to be.
In 2006 New Jersey enacted the first law in the nation requiring all hospitals and birthing centers to screen new mothers for PMDs.
Also, in an effort to educate New Jersey women about the signs and resources available for treating PMD, informational palm cards detailing the signs of PMD are being distributed throughout the state in locations including hair and nail salons, spas, daycare centers, nursery schools, restaurants and other retail establishments.
---
gmnews.com
