Psychological functioning has been found to be relatively poor in women with early menopause compared to women with menopause at the average age. Women with early menopause often have difficulty adapting to an altered self-image, to sexual dysfunction, and to the loss of fertility associated with estrogen deprivation. Breastfeeding for longer amounts of time –…
A study published in the latest edition of Archives of Women’s Health has found that instrumental births (those requiring forceps, vacuum extraction, etc.) and cesarean sections are related to a higher number of psychological difficulties after birth – ranging from lack of adjustment to motherhood to post-traumatic stress disorder. To put these conclusions into perspective,…
It is well known that pregnancy is a psychologically transforming event and that in some cases it may activate unexpected difficulties at an emotional level. It is also known that stress, anxiety and depression may impact the baby´s development, elevate the risk of preterm birth and of mental health issues in the postpartum. Not much…
According to some sources, when a woman in Sparta (Ancient Greece) hadn’t gone into labour after nine months, other women would go to her house to berate her almost violently. They would hurl all the grievances in her face that they had kept to themselves during the pregnancy and the heated exchange usually triggered the…
by Ibone Olza Every time there is a catastrophe I cannot help thinking about the babies, the mothers, the pregnant women, haw how they all will fare. Now that Australia burns, I watch the news with sadness and worry… I think it is crucial that we share the information that people like professor and…
Obstetricians… Two of the mothers I visited today at the breastfeeding clinic recounted their birth stories to me. Though both had been similar in the workings (hospital births, vaginal, no epidural, some synthetic oxytocin), each mother had a completely different story to tell. For one, it had been a wonderful, empowering experience. For…
The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes a “positive childbirth experience” as a significant end point for all women undergoing labor. It defines a positive childbirth experience as one that fulfils or exceeds a woman’s prior personal and sociocultural beliefs and expectations, including giving birth to a healthy baby in a clinically and psychologically safe environment…
Newborns have a series of highly conserved neuroendcrine behaviours that we see as the “breast-crawl”, when babies placed skin to skin on their mothers immadiately after birth crawl to the breast, attach and suckle. This behaviour has been called Widström’s 9 Stages of Newborn Behavior. A recent study by Widstrom´s group found a strong inverse…
Brains of mothers and their babies synchronize more easily when mother is happy, according to a new study from Cambridge University. Researchers discovered that the brains of a mother and her infant form a megaweb where brainwaves align, which permits better connection and empathy. But the level of connectivity is dependent on mother´s emotional state.…
By Carmela Baeza, MD, IBCLC My teenage daughter is not feeling well. She´s been running a fever for the last couple of days – possibly the flu. Tonight, around four a.m., I woke up because I heard her calling. She walked into our bedroom, crying softly, kneeled by my side of the bed, and said…
