by Ibone Olza, perinatal psychiatrist. Dear pregnant mother, Several close Friends have asked me to write this letter to you. Perhaps you are surprised that I call you “mother” if you are expecting your first child, but the truth is, I believe we are mothers from the moment we accept carrying a baby inside…
Postpartum should not be a time of battle. It should be a time of wellbeing, of enjoying your hard-earned, beautiful postpartum – a time of mothering with pleasure, to lessen the print of these scary times we are forced to live, by kissing, holding, hugging, loving your baby and being together hours on end. By Esther…
Perinatal health experts warn of the harmful effects of separating infants from their mothers, whether they are infected with COVID19 or not – separation is an unnecessary measure which at this moment is unadvised by the WHO in lieu of current evidence. One of the most painful realities this pandemic is bringing about is…
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory tract infection caused by a newly emergent coronavirus, that was first recognized in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. While most people with COVID-19 develop only mild or uncomplicated illness, approximately 14% develop severe disease that requires hospitalization and oxygen support, and 5% require admission to an intensive care…
Birth Activism and Obstetric Violence: Interview with Ibone Olza by Elena Skoko I met Ibone at my first meeting of the COST Action BIRTH in Lancaster (UK) in 2015, as part of this European research project where researchers, policymakers, and activists work together to produce and disseminate scientific literature on the topic of normal or…
Maternity is a time of deep transformation, both of the brain and of the psyche, and of course a physical feat of strength. This makes postpartum an intense path to travel, one that is better tread in the company of other women. And this is not simply something women crave: more and more scientific evidence…
Fear of childbirth (FOC), also referred to as tokophobia, is related to feelings of limited capability in the face of childbirth and affects the pregnant woman’s quality of life. It is more common in nulliparous women but can also be related to earlier traumatic birth experiences. A new study, recenlty published in the Journal of…
by Ibone Olza, MD, PhD I met Cheryl Beck in 2010 in Pittsburgh, at the Marcé International Conference. I had been reading her groundbreaking and brave research on birth trauma for years. One of her publications begins with this potent sentence: “My child was conceived in love and born by rape.” The Anniversary…
Finland has taken one more step in its policies to support families, not only to make it reasonable for them to have children, but also to favor their care. Let us not forget that the more intelligent a species is, the longer the exterogestational dependent period. Care of the young during those early years is…
A systematic review and narrative synthesis of fourteen studies conducted in Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, UK and USA, published in the last issue of Archives of Women’s Mental Health, focuses on women’s views on the acceptability of and satisfaction with non-pharmacological interventions to reduce the symptoms of anxiety in pregnant women. Studies included women…
