Posts Tagged ‘postpartum depression’

Holidays With A New Baby (or, How to Keep the Thanks in Thanksgiving)

Monday, November 19th, 2012

Holidays with a New Baby | Marcy Axness, PhDFor anyone who becomes a mother within nine months of a major holiday season (and, taking into account all of the holidays within every faith and cultural tradition, that means almost everybody!) I have a radical idea for you:  Simplify your idea of how the holidays will look this year. Better yet, let yourself let someone ELSE handle everything. That way, your holidays with a new baby can be marked by joy, connection and peace — just as they’re meant to be! (more…)

Silver Reflections on Motherhood ~ My Son is 25!

Wednesday, July 11th, 2012

I was taken by the crucible called motherhood a quarter-century ago: my son Ian turns twenty-five today. The baby who was born smack on his auspicious due-date (seven-eleven!) arrived to find a mother in emotional disarray, to say the least. I have said it countless times, in keynote talks…classes for grad students…casual conversations…and even in my book: Motherhood brought me to my knees. Cracked me open. Excavated me. {read rest of post at mothering.com}

When Mothering is a Secret Struggle: Covert Postpartum Depression

Wednesday, April 18th, 2012

How crazy does this sound? My children were both in their teens before I realized that I had experienced postpartum depression with both of them. What led to this tardy epiphany? Not the several years of deep therapeutic work with two different therapists and a variety of bodyworkers; not the many years of deep scholarly work pursuing my doctorate in early human development, including the study of pregnancy, birth and postpartum issues; and as you can probably guess, not from my own OB/GYN.

I have Brooke Shields to thank for my big ah-hah. (more…)