Mental health
fromPsychology Today
1 day agoWhat I Wish Health Care Providers Knew About Postpartum
Intrusive thoughts and images are common among pregnant and postpartum parents, often graphic and disturbing, but they are treatable.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced that Donna Ockenden would lead an independent investigation into maternity care at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust, emphasizing the need for transparency and family involvement.
For decades, work was designed around a fiction, that of the 'neutral' worker, an abstract individual assumed to be fully available, consistent, rational, and unaffected by bodily constraints. But this neutrality was never real.
Among sexually active women who use contraception, 21 percent take birth control pills, while far fewer—13 percent—rely on intrauterine devices (IUDs). Women can assess which of the dozen methods is best for them by talking with family planning counselors at Planned Parenthood and other contraception providers.
Firefighter Jeffrey Jovin, a former paramedic with experience assisting in childbirth, realized the newborn wasn't breathing and had no pulse. Jovin immediately began CPR as another member assisted with ventilation until EMS arrived.
For over a month, my office has been going back and forth with ICE officials about Andrea's condition. We have been ignored, put off, and frankly, lied to about the treatment she has received while in detention.
Since 1985, every time the U.S. elects a Republican president, global maternal mortality increases by about 10.5%, or about 44.7 additional deaths per 100,000 live births. This erodes roughly one-fifth of the average worldwide decline in maternal mortality achieved since 1985.
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act protects pregnant employees from workplace discrimination based on your pregnancy. Additionally, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires your employer to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy-related conditions. For maternity leave, the Family and Medical Leave Act (federal law) entitles eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave following childbirth if you've worked at your company for at least a year.
Sofii Lewis described her experience, stating, "I knew I wasn't safe. But I didn't think I was out of control." This highlights the confusion many face with postpartum psychosis.
While noting women 'were treated with kindness and compassion', a 'requires improvement' rating was given. Inspectors said hospital management 'did not always support staff well-being' and 'were not always visible within the service and were sometimes perceived as unsupportive'. Staff reported they were confident to report incidents, however, were not always assured action would be taken.
I attended A&E multiple times complaining of pain, tachycardia (increased heart rate), sickness - I couldn't keep anything down... but they didn't listen. Angel-Kay Mason fell pregnant with her daughter in June 2022 aged 19. Due to a family history of complex pregnancies, she says she was deemed to be high-risk but says she was not referred to a consultant and did not receive any extra scans.
We'd been working together for years to make my medication regimen-treatment for schizoaffective disorder-safe for potential pregnancy. Under her care, I was tapering off an antidepressant known to cause respiratory distress and hypertension in a newborn. I'd been experiencing wild mood swings, even suicidal thoughts. My beloved doctor's eyes were sad. "I'm saying no to a pregnancy, Meg." Even in the moment, I understood her priority as a physician was to keep me safe. Still, part of me hated her.
When I first found out I was pregnant, I did what most moms do-I started researching. I wanted to make the best possible choices for my baby and myself, and giving birth in a hospital just didn't feel like the safest option. So many women do it, but the more I learned, the more I realized that the reality of hospital birth in the U.S. is even less reassuring than I had thought. I wanted to birth at home.