Postpartum Mood Disorders

Abstract

With the advent of the women's movement, it seems that more and more medical research focuses on the necessity for improving women's health care. While we are moving forward in the area of postpartum mood disorders, the momentum seems to be slower here than in other areas of women's health research. This momentum gained speed when the DSM-IV finally included the postpartum modifier to several psychiatric entities. It is this reader's opinion that Postpartum Mood Disorders could be the ignition to spark interest and pick up the pace of research in this area of women's health care. After having recently plowed through a fair amount of the recent literature on postpartum depression, this book was a pleasure to read, offering much insight into the nature of the disorder. It is a compilation of the research, thoughts, and opinions of many persons from different medical backgrounds. Psychiatry faculty, social workers, postpartum support group facilitators, and even law professors have all contributed chapters.It is this very diversity that gives this publication its strength to inform and educate. The language is clear, understandable, and definitely targeted toward primary care givers. By their nature, postpartum mood disorders can be unclear or ill defined; however, this book does a very good job with succinct explanations, comparisons, and definitions. The treatment section offers in-depth strategies that seem to be lacking in some areas of the literature available. The most remarkable aspect of this book is its perceptive lessons in psychotherapy, which cover varying types, from interpersonal therapy to couples therapy to self-help therapy. The editors even go so far as to include a chapter on support groups and the great advances that have been made in treatment and prevention by volunteer persons, many of whom have no medical background but do have the background of personal experience. This text emphasizes psychotherapy as treatment with a limited amount of information regarding medical therapy. The reason for this limitation is the lack of information available, according to the author. Overall, if you are a practicing physician who treats obstetric patients or deals with postpartum patients, this book should find its way into your library.