Available:*
Material Type | Library | Call Number | Suggested Age | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book | Searching... Cabell County Public Library | 618.76 FOX | Adult | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Putnam Main Public Library | 618.76 FOX | Adult | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
Most people have heard of post-partum depression. What many people do not know is that anxiety and depression can be experienced during pregnancy, as well, and the impact can be both debilitating and devastating. This book is a unique combination of one woman's story of her struggle with perinatal distress and actionable advice from a professional in the field. Rebecca Fox Starr shares her personal story of marriage, motherhood, prenatal anxiety and depression, severe postpartum anxiety and depression, recovery process and hope for the future. Woven throughout the narrative, Dr. Amy Wenzel, a specialist in the field of Perinatal Mood Disorders, provides readers with clinical information and advice, addressing risk factors, warning signs, definitions and recovery options. Stories from other women who experienced prenatal anxiety or depression are included as well. No longer do women have to suffer in silence, question their symptoms, or try to hide their feelings. Here, readers will see themselves in the narrative and understand that the devastating effects of prenatal and post-partum depression can be confirmed, treated, and managed, giving them hope for a brighter future.
Author Notes
Rebecca Fox Starr is a writer, blogger, podcaster and mental health advocate with an unyielding desire to help other mental health sufferers. Among her greatest accomplishments, Rebecca has used the success of her blog, Mommy, Ever After, to create a private, online forum for women, in which they are able to open up about psychological and social issues that they would otherwise be too afraid to address. Her story has been featured in The New York Times, on ABC News and in all forms of media across the world. Rebecca lives and writes with her husband and two children in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Mommy, Ever After blog can be found at www.MommyEverAfter.com .
Reviews (2)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Emotional and candid, this personal pregnancy story delves into Starr's battle with anxiety and depression during and after pregnancy. Interwoven throughout are the clinical insights of Amy Wenzel, a psychologist specializing in perinatal care, who goes beyond the much-discussed topic of postpartum mood disorders to discuss how prenatal anxiety and depression-two lesser-known conditions-can afflict women. In poignant prose, Starr discusses how her behaviors and thoughts shifted from her first pregnancy to her second. She invites the reader in to experience her descent into prenatal anxiety, rife with unreasonable fears and depressive lows: "As my baby grew, and his delivery grew closer, things got worse. My numbness spread. My husband and I drifted." Starr's open-mic approach also provides generous space for five other women to share their experiences. Erica, a postpartum sufferer, recalls, "I drove over the bridge between my home and my job and pictured myself driving off the edge into the river below." The contributors offer reassuring advice, such as "Don't feel guilty for having thoughts that carousel through your brain that have no business being there." This work promises to be a valuable refuge for expectant mothers and their families confronting the specter of prenatal and postpartum depression. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Women who struggle with anxiety and depression during and after pregnancy will feel reassured and no longer alone because of mommy-blogger Starr's brutally honest account of her own mental health battle. She seemed to live a storybook life with loving husband Kenny and daughter Annabelle. But while pregnant with her son, she started down a dark path, and after he was born, negative thoughts wove their way through her brain like poison. She ended up in treatment for anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and an unspecified feeding disorder that left her clinically malnourished. She tried to hide the cuts she inflicted on her arms. She was a suicide risk. Do you know what is worse than feeling deep depression? she writes. Feeling deep depression when the world tells you that you are supposed to be happier than ever. Starr includes insights from Dr. Amy Wenzel, editor of The Oxford Handbook of Perinatal Psychology (2016), and identity-concealed patient studies. As Starr passionately argues, mental health for moms matters. The less anxious and distressed a pregnant woman and new mother is, the better for everyone.--Springen, Karen Copyright 2017 Booklist
Table of Contents
| Acknowledgments | p. ix |
| Introduction | p. 1 |
| Part I A Happy Story | |
| Chapter 1 First Comes Love: A Pregnant Paws and Other Crazy Tales | p. 5 |
| Part II A Hard Story | |
| Chapter 2 Professional Perspective on Prenatal Distress | p. 25 |
| Chapter 3 Uncomfortably Numb: The Beginning of My Prenatal Distress | p. 33 |
| Chapter 4 "I Didn't Know Exactly What It Was, But I Knew to Fear It": My Prenatal Anxiety and Depression | p. 43 |
| Chapter 5 Violated Expectations of Magic: Dr. Amy Wenzel's Clinical Experience with Prenatal Distress | p. 55 |
| Chapter 6 "I See the Light Going Out in Your Eyes": The Beginning of My Postpartum Depression | p. 63 |
| Chapter 7 A Bicycle Built for Two (If That Bicycle Were Actually an ER Suite): My Severe Postpartum Depression | p. 71 |
| Part III A Hopeful Story | |
| Chapter 8 Support as a Key to Recovery | p. 85 |
| Chapter 9 Together, Ever After | p. 97 |
| Chapter 10 Hope | p. 125 |
| Notes | p. 133 |
| Bibliography | p. 135 |
| Index | p. 137 |
| About the Author | p. 141 |
