Postpartum Depression Resources- Brooklyn and National
Hi and thanks for reading!
Get your daily dose of A Child Grows sent to your inbox free! Subscribe to our newsletter (email: achildgrows@aweber.com).
Postpartum depression is traumatic. It’s even worse when you’re unable to find any help. You can get PPD soon after your baby is born or months and months later. A couple of friends didn’t get it until 6 months post-birth and often women don’t get it until after a couple of months post-birth. That means that most women don’t have symptoms of it until after the 6 week checkup with their OB when the issue could be addressed. At any time, it can be debilitating and lonely. 1 in 5 women will suffer from PPD every year. To read my personal journey through it, you can read about it here on CafeMom.
To help you find resources, I’ve compiled a list. I know there are many other types of services that could help: message, exercise, nannies, taking a class, etc. Please see the Directory: http://directory.achildgrows.com/ for info on those subjects).
The point I wish to convey here is that there MUST be a more intensive resource center for women suffering with postpartum depression. We shouldn’t have to search through back channels to find such vital information. I want every mom to find the right place for them. It’s time they had a place to go!
Here are a few General Info sites to begin:
This is a brochure about PPD with a list of symptoms from the Federal government.
This is actually a more helpful and complete discussion of PPD.
www.postpartum.net: this is a great place to start but by no means comprehensive!
For Support Groups see these:
Here is a support group in Brooklyn run by 2 women who have experience with the issue. The downside is that it only meets once a month.
Local educator, Ellen Chuse offers postpartum classes for mom and baby, she also offers counseling.
Some Hospitals that offer help:
New York Presbyterian Hospital offers psychiatrists, psychologists, and, periodically, support groups for women’s health issues, including PPD.
Columbia Presbyterian Medical also offers psychiatrists, psychologists, and group therapies.
NYU Medical Center also claims (in the literature I received when I gave birth) to have a postpartum depression help center, but, quite honestly, I can’t find it and they sure didn’t help me after my son was born:
Gouverneur Healthcare Services
Extra help can be found with a Postpartum Doula:
A comprehensive list of doulas in the area.
Another great list of doulas in the area.
Put your zip code and the date you need her and pops you back a list. It’s very Star Trek!
This is the place I used to find a doula;, she was amazing and taught me so much.
There are also Holistic Doctors that can help:
The Continuum Cent for Health and Healing
Acupuncture is also shown to be helpful:
A few key Books on the subject:
The Mother-to-Mother Postpartum Depression Support Book by Sandra Poulin
Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression by Brooke Shields
When Baby Brings the Blues: Solutions for Postpartum Depression by Ariel Dalfen
Postpartum Depression for Dummies by Shoshana S. Bennett and Mary Jo Codey
**********
Trained as art historian, Tonya Vernooy has traded in her musings on biotechnology and contemporary art to focus on a more intense subject: raising her son and writing about it: www.adhocmom.com. She is also currently working on a series of murder mystery novels. She lives in Park Slope with 1 child, 1 husband, 2 dogs, and a cat.
Alice,
Thank you so much, that means a lot to me! I’m currently pursuing a path back to graduate school so that I can help other women who suffer from PPD.
Katherine,
I didn’t list postpartumny.org because when I had PPD they could not/did not help me in Brooklyn. They are mainly an upstate organization.
No shame here- just altruistic help- thank you Katherine!
Thanks Tonya,
As a professional who works with many postpartum mothers, couples and families (depressed or otherwise) I can’t tell you how helpful it is for them to get this information from other folks who have experienced or are experiencing PPD.
The more resources, links and communication there are about PPD the better. I’m bookmarking this post so I have it at the ready for my clients!
-Alice of Family Matters NY
At the risk of being shameless, you might also consider Postpartum Progress, the most widely-read blog on postpartum depression, as a resource. http://www.postpartumprogress.com
Also, I don’t believe you listed the Postpartum Resource Center of New York, which helps women all over your state, including Brooklyn. http://www.postpartumny.org/
I wish I had this when my daughter was born. All I had was Brooke Shields! Which WAS helpful by the way.