Pregnancy and mental health problems – how to reconcile the two – are often topics of discussion on this website and in my clinical practice.
In the past we have often referred people to Vivien K. Burt, MD, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Clinical Psychiatry and the Director of the Women’s Life Center at UCLA and the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Women’s Mental Health for information and sometimes to obtain consultations.
This past week, a colleague at UCSF, Dr. Anna Glezer, wrote to let me know about a new patient-centered informational website she is launching focused on issues related to pregnancy and mental health. It’s called Mind Body Pregnancy.
It is a wonderful resource that includes a very active log and I encourage any of you reading this with an interest to subscribe to it.
The whole topic of pregnancy and mental health tends to raise anxiety because of the strong and, often, radically divergent opinions that you can run across when doing searches for information on the Internet or when talking to family and friends.
But our experience working with many women who had successful pregnancies despite wrestling with problems of bipolar or depression suggests that seeking information and consultation from reliable sources, along with thoughtful planning and discussion, can lead to a plan for a healthy pregnancy and the start of a new family.
For more information…
Depression in Pregnancy Affects the Child