After the Baby is Born: Fact Sheets and Resources

Healthy Pregnancy Home > Childbirth and Beyond > After the Baby is Born > Fact Sheets and Resources

The following resources can help answer other questions you may have after your baby is born:

• Postpartum Depression
• Postpartum Health

Postpartum Depression

Publications

1.   Depression During and After Pregnancy: A Resource for Women, Their Families, and Friends - This booklet provides information on depression during or after pregnancy, addressing a broad range of physical and emotional struggles faced by pregnant and postpartum women and their families. The booklet focuses on the possible causes of perinatal depression; the differences between “baby blues”, perinatal depression, and postpartum psychosis; and how to identify perinatal depression, what to do, and how it can affect your baby and your family. This booklet includes resources on where to get help and advice for fathers, families, and friends.

   http://www.mchb.hrsa.gov/pregnancyandbeyond/depression/

2.   Frequently Asked Questions - Depression During and After Pregnancy - This publication explains how common depression is during and after pregnancy, what causes it, what the symptoms are, how it is treated, and how untreated depression can affect your life.

   http://www.womenshealth.gov/faq/postpartum.htm

3. Depression During Pregnancy (Copyright © American Pregnancy Association) - This publication explains the signs and triggers for depression during pregnancy. It also discusses how untreated depression can be harmful to the baby and what treatment options are available.

   http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/depressionduringpregnancy.html

4. Postpartum Depression (Copyright © MFMER) - This on-line publication provides information about postpartum depression. It includes sections on signs and symptoms, causes, risk factors, screening and diagnosis, treatment, and self-care.

   http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/postpartum-depression/DS00546

5. Postpartum Depression and the 'Baby Blues' (Copyright © AAFP) - This fact sheet provides information about the symptoms of postpartum depression and the steps you can take toward treatment.

   http://familydoctor.org/379.xml

6. Postpartum Disorders (Copyright © NMHA) - This fact sheet describes what postpartum depression (PPD), ‘baby blues”, and postpartum psychosis are, what the symptoms are, and what factors contribute to PPD. Also included are suggested treatments and additional resources.

   http://www.nmha.org/index.cfm?objectId=C7DF8CE1-1372-4D20-C892917FA2B62555

Organizations

1.   National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, HHS
2. American Psychological Association
3. Perinatal Foundation
4. Postpartum Support International
5. PPD Moms

= Indicates Federal Resources

Postpartum Health

Publications

1.     Exercising Your Pelvic Muscles - This publication describes exercises for the pelvic floor muscles, called Kegel exercises, and how they can help restore or maintain bladder control.

   http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/pdf/exercise_ez.pdf

2. C-section (Copyright © MFMER) - This publication briefly explains what to expect during a cesarean section. It goes into more detail explaining recovering afterward, both in the hospital and at home.

   http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/c-section/MY00214/rss=1

3.   Common Discomforts After Delivery (Copyright © Ohio State University Medical Center) - This fact sheet lists the common discomforts you may experience after delivery and explains what you can do to alleviate them.

   http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/pdfs/PatientEd/Materials/PDFDocs/women-in/post-par/discommo.pdf...

4.   Postpartum Thyroiditis (Copyright © ATA) - This fact sheet discusses what postpartum thyroiditis is, what causes it, how common it is, who is at risk, and what treatments are available.

   http://www.thyroid.org/patients/brochures/PostpartumFAQ.pdf

5. Recovering from Delivery (Copyright © The Nemours Foundation) - This article lists some of the common physical and emotional symptoms you may experience after giving birth. It discusses what you can do to alleviate some of these problems and explains when you should call a doctor.

   http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/pregnancy_newborn/home/recovering_delivery.html

6. Relationship with your Partner After Birth (Copyright © University of Michigan) - This publication contains information on the changes in your body during pregnancy. It presents a number of topics of interest to the expecting mother and partner.

   http://www.med.umich.edu/obgyn/smartmoms/postpartum/family/partner.htm

Organizations

1. American College of Nurse-Midwives
2. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Resource Center
3. American Thyroid Association
4. Familydoctor.org
5. Kids Health

= Indicates Federal Resources

Current as of January 2006