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#2CE@? 56 3F?<DD@> 6 4 @>>@?>:D4@?46AE:@?Dbaby blues
The truth about
HOW TO HELPMYTH #2“PNDA IS ALWAYS
CAUSED BY
HORMONES”
Along with “pregnant women crave
pickles and ice-cream”, the popular
belief that hormonal changes lead
to postnatal depression is a furphy.
A 20-year study of 1000 women
by the Murdoch Childrens Research
Institute in Melbourne found that
in 85 per cent of cases, PNDA was
a continuation of mental-health
problems experienced earlier
in life, usually dating back to a
mother’s teenage years. Only one
in 13 women with no history of
mental illness reported PNDA,
according to lead researcher
Professor George Patton.MYTH #1“WOMEN WITH
PNDA NEED A
PSYCHIATRIST”
Not all affected mums need time
on a psychiatrist’s or psychologist’s
couch. Phone-based peer support
helps reduce PNDA symptoms, as per
a study in the Journal Of Advanced
Nursing. After about seven weeks of
phone counselling with other women
who had recovered from PNDA, just
eight per cent of new mums were still
depressed. “Phone counselling in the
moment of need from home, with a
level of anonymity, is less confronting,”
says Jenni Richardson, spokesperson
for the Perinatal Anxiety &
Depression Australia (PANDA)
National Helpline (1300 726 306).MYTH #3“YOU CAN’T BREASTFEED WHILE
ON ANTIDEPRESSANTS FOR PNDA”
Not only is it possible to take antidepressants while breastfeeding, it could
even be beneficial. Researchers at the University of Adelaide’s Robinson
Research Institute followed 368 women who were on antidepressants prior
to getting pregnant; one-third continued to take their meds throughout their
pregnancy and while breastfeeding. “These women were much more successful
at maintaining breastfeeding up to and beyond the recommended six months,”
says researcher Dr Luke Grzeskowiak. In contrast, women who quit
antidepressants were more likely to stop breastfeeding before six months.Priceline
Pharmacy’s
Sisterhood
Foundation
supports PANDA
by donating
proceeds from
featured
products; you
can also make a
donation instore
or shop the range
online. Visit
priceline.com.au/
sisterhood.PHOTOGRAPHED BY GETTY IMAGES. POSTNATAL DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY (PNDA) CAN BE MILD, MODERATE OR SEVERE AND SYMPTOMS CAN BEGIN SUDDENLY AFTER BIRTH OR APPEAR GRADUALLY IN THE WEEKS OR MONTHS DURING THE FIRST YEAR AFTER BIRTH. IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING PNDA OR HAVE SYMPTOMS SIMILAR TO PNDA, CALL THE PANDA NATIONAL HELPLINE 1300 726 306 OR LIFELINE 13 11 14222 >2C: 64 = 2 :C6 4 @> 2 F-6==?6DD