DR. RODRIGUEZ-SIUTS
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
    • Prenatal and Postpartum Therapy
    • Reproductive Mental Health Therapy
    • General Maternal Mental Health
  • Patient Info
    • Patient Forms
    • Rates & Insurance
    • FAQ
    • Useful Therapeutic Apps
    • Patient Portal
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
    • Prenatal and Postpartum Therapy
    • Reproductive Mental Health Therapy
    • General Maternal Mental Health
  • Patient Info
    • Patient Forms
    • Rates & Insurance
    • FAQ
    • Useful Therapeutic Apps
    • Patient Portal
  • Blog
  • Contact
Search

I Tried the First Drug Approved to Treat Postpartum Depression: ‘The Black Veil Was Lifted’

10/29/2020

0 Comments

 

By: Sarah Chorney| September 28, 2020

"​Following the birth of her third child, Jorgia Hamel Nevers experienced Postpartum Depression (PPD) for the first time. The 30-year-old from Robeline, Louisiana, identified her symptoms and spoke with her husband, Travis, and a counselor. They informed her doctor during a 6-week postnatal follow-up appointment. He prescribed Zulresso, the first FDA-approved drug designed to treat postpartum depression. It is an IV treatment which can reportedly help patients feel relief from symptoms within 48 hours. Soon, Nevers felt a loving, healthy attachment to her baby River and her 2-year-old and 5-year-old sons again. She decided to share her story because she says she wants women who are experiencing PPD to know that they can speak up, seek treatment and get better. This is her story, as told to PEOPLE.

River was born August 27, 2019. I started having some PPD symptoms a week after her birth. Since she’s my third child, I knew what PPD was from warnings in pregnancy classes I’d previously taken and also from my social work courses. (I’m currently a full-time social work student at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana.) My PPD symptoms showed up as irritated and depressed moods; I wouldn’t get out of bed, had severe anxiety attacks, would cry for no reason and wasn’t feeling a true connection with River or my two sons. On top of that, I felt guilt for what I was experiencing and how it was affecting my family as a whole. I just had a lack of will to do anything at all — except for being alone.

While I experienced the depressive moods and crying in the beginning, it then progressed to the other symptoms. The lack of will was difficult because inside, part of me was still saying, “Get up, take care of your family, do your schoolwork.” But my body just would not move. I felt paralyzed. And as it progressed, I started not to care. I’d think, “River is crying, oh well, Travis will get her. She doesn’t need me anyway,” or “Sammy has something at school for parents to attend, but I don’t want to get up, oh well.”

This is completely the opposite of who I was before PPD. The lack of maternal connection played into the lack of will. At first, I didn’t feel like River was my child. Then I didn’t care anymore about trying to build that bond with her, or to maintain the bond I had with my sons. The anxiety attacks were physically debilitating, in particular. My entire body would tense up, I would cry, I couldn’t breathe, and I was just terrified each time they came. (I had these symptoms until my treatment of Zulresso was completed.)

I had never experienced “baby blues” or PPD with my other two children. After about a month of having symptoms, I told my husband that I felt like something was wrong. I didn’t fully say PPD, just that I wasn’t feeling like myself. Then, a classmate and friend of mine sent a message to check on me. I told her what I was experiencing, and she advised me to see a counselor and tell my doctor. I didn’t want to admit to myself that something was wrong, but I was taking a course about mental health and read about depression symptoms in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual. I sat in my chair and checked off “yes” to almost all of the symptoms listed. That woke me up.

At that point, I decided to tell my professors what was going on, to make a therapy appointment, and to inform my doctor at my routine 6-week checkup. I am lucky that Dr. Olatinwo was involved in the trials for Zulresso. He saw its potential for me.

My physical experience of the treatment involved staying in a hospital room for three days with an IV that administered Zulresso and other fluids. It is a 60-hour infusion, so I had food brought to me and I was checked on every two hours. I watched a lot of Disney+ and just focused on getting better. My husband would also bring me snacks, and he brought River (while the boys were in school and daycare) to the hospital for a visit. I also FaceTimed with them in the evening to say goodnight. After being on the treatment for 30-35 hours, I started feeling better — more like myself. I had the urge to get up and take a shower. I wanted to take care of myself."
Finish Reading Jorgia's Story about Postpartum Depression and the treatment Zulresso
0 Comments

Dutch researchers find Covid-19 antibodies in breast milk, call for donations

10/22/2020

0 Comments

 
Dutch News| August 19, 2020
"Researchers at Amsterdam’s UMC teaching hospital and a number of other institutes have found coronavirus antibodies in the breast milk of women who have tested positive for the virus.

The research team are now looking into whether the milk could be used to prevent coronavirus infections in vulnerable people during an eventual second wave, possibly in the form of flavoured ice cubes.

hey have already found that the antibodies are not destroyed by pasteurising the milk, which is necessary to make it usable by other people.


"We think when drinking the milk, the antibodies attach themselves to the surface of our mucous membranes,’ Hans van Goudoever, head of the Emma children’s hospital at the UMC, said. ‘Then they attack the virus particles before they force their way into the body."

The UMC has now started a campaign to find 1,000 women who are willing to donate 100ml of breast milk for the research project. ‘Women who may have had coronavirus without noticing it may also have made antibodies which can be found in milk,’ Van Goudoever said. ‘So we are looking for mothers who may have been infected as well.’ Even if this turns out not to be the case, their milk can be stored for further research, if they give permission, he said.

Women who want to take part are urged to contact covid.milk@amsterdamumc.nl."

Finish Reading about Covid-19 antibodies in breast milk
0 Comments

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: What It Is, How to Manage It

10/12/2020

1 Comment

 
​By Hilda Hutcherson| September 4, 2020
"Often misunderstood and misdiagnosed, PCOS can play havoc with your fertility. Here’s how to recognize the symptoms and take action to protect your reproductive health."
"Caroline’s mother was concerned when she turned 15 and hadn’t had her first period. It finally came, but it wasn’t until three months later that she’d get her second. Her gynecologist assured her that irregular periods were common for someone her age, so Caroline’s mother didn’t worry. Then, at 18, her periods disappeared for six months. This time, her college ob-gyn said that the stress of college often causes menstrual periods to wane, and that the best treatment was hormonal therapy to make her periods regular. So she started taking birth control pills.

Thirteen years later, she was ready to have a baby and stopped taking them, assuming that since she was older and not under as much stress, her periods would become more regular. But they didn’t. She also noticed increased acne and facial hair. After six months of trying unsuccessfully to conceive, she started taking her temperature and using an ovulation predictor kit. Both revealed that she was ovulating infrequently and irregularly. The question was why?

Many women with irregular periods are told it’s no big deal. Even her acne and facial hair didn’t throw up a red flag. Fortunately, tests eventually led to an accurate diagnosis: she had polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal disorder that disrupts women’s fertility and may cause a host of other health issues. As many as 15 percent of women between 18 and 45 have PCOS, making it the most common hormonal disorder among women of childbearing age.

For this guide, I reviewed the current literature and interviewed Beth Rackow, M.D., a reproductive endocrinologist and director of the pediatric and adolescent gynecology program at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

What to do: 
  • Know the signs and symptoms
  • Know what’s involved in diagnosing PCOS
  • Understand how PCOS may affect your fertility
  • Prepare for potential pregnancy complications if you conceive
  • Know the other health risks of PCOS
  • Consider possible treatments

Know the signs and symptoms
Polycystic ovary syndrome is a common hormonal disorder among women, yet often goes underdiagnosed by health care providers. Some women have few, if any, symptoms. Others have many — irregular or absent periods, excess facial or body hair growth (hirsutism), obesity and infertility — but they may be mistaken as signs of other health conditions.

​Irregular, unpredictable periods are one important symptom. Periods may come twice a month, be infrequent (greater than 35 days apart) or disappear for months at a time. They may be light or they may be heavy enough to cause anemia. You may suspect PCOS if you also have acne that doesn’t respond to treatment or increased growth of facial or body hair. These are signs of excess androgen hormone. Eighty percent of women with hirsutism have PCOS.

PCOS may appear as early as adolescence. “Girls with PCOS typically present when they haven’t had their first period when they should have, their periods are very infrequent or they are having frequent, heavy periods,” said Dr. Rackow.

It’s common for menses to be irregular in girls during the first year or two after the first period. Acne is also common during adolescence. However, if menstrual periods continue to be abnormal after the first two years, or if bleeding is persistently heavy at any time, an evaluation is needed."
Learn more about the misunderstood/misdiagnosed PCOS and what to do about it
1 Comment

Infertility the second time around

10/5/2020

1 Comment

 
By: Ellen S. Glazer, LICSW| February 4, 2020
Most anyone who has struggled with secondary infertility knows that it is an incredibly lonely experience. You may be blessed with one or two children — possibly more — but struggling to expand or complete your family. Surrounded by families with young children, you find yourself alone and in pain.

If you are a veteran of primary infertility, you may remember strategies you developed for shielding yourself from the pregnancies of others. Not so this second time around: pregnant women and moms with babies and toddlers surround you at preschool.
​
If you had your first child with ease and are new to infertility, you may feel even less equipped to deal with seemingly limitless fecundity. Primary infertility prepared your fellow travelers for the envy, anger, sadness, isolation, and awkwardness it brings. For you these feelings are new, and along with them comes the guilt of secondary infertility: “Why can’t I be happy with the child I have?” Today we’ll focus on ways you can cope with secondary infertility.

The first few steps to coping with secondary infertility

Seek good medical care. If you went through primary infertility, you know the ropes of the world of reproductive medicine. However, if this is all new to you, do not delay in seeking expert help. There is a lot to learn in reproductive medicine. Beginning to understand it may help you feel that you have some control of your situation. Don’t be reluctant to seek a second and even a third opinion — you will learn from each consult, and talking with a few physicians can help land you in the right place.

Try to avoid self-blame. It is tempting to blame yourself. You are a likely target if you feel you waited too long to have a second child, or perhaps blame yourself for not having your first child sooner. If you have two or more children and are struggling to complete your family, you may accuse yourself of greed. Another form of self-blame comes when parents feel they are being punished for not fully appreciating or enjoying the child they have, or worse still, being “bad” parents.

Take charge of the message. Although many people choose to have one child and feel confident with “one and done,” there is often the assumption that a family means two or more children. As a parent of one child, you are likely to frequently encounter the following questions: “Is she your only child?” or “Are you going to have more?”
It helps to figure out a short, direct, and containable message to give anyone who asks about family size. Something like, “We’re hoping to have a larger family, but it’s not been easy for us.” Or “___ is our first child, but we are hoping he/she will have a sibling before too long.”

Additional ways to cope with secondary infertility
​
Try not to focus on age. Many parents think a lot about the spacing of their children. Secondary infertility derails plans for ideal spacing — whatever that may mean to you. My advice to people is blunt: let it go. I remind clients that close or distant relationships with siblings are not defined by spacing. All of us know adults who cherish their sister or brother 10 or 15 years their junior, but argue constantly with the sibling who is within two years of their age.
Finish reading additional ways to cope with second infertility
1 Comment

Black babies more likely to survive when cared for by black doctors – US study

10/1/2020

1 Comment

 
By Nina Lakhani in New York| Mon 17 Aug 2020 16.47 EDT
"Black babies have a greater chance of survival when the hospital doctor in charge of their care is also black, according to a new study.

In the US, babies of color face starkly worse clinical outcomes than white newborns.

Earlier research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published last year shows that black babies are more than twice as likely to die before reaching their first birthday than white babies, regardless of the mother’s income or education level.

While infant mortality has fallen overall in the past century thanks to improvements in hygiene, nutrition and healthcare, the black-white disparity has grown.

Multiple interrelated factors which contribute to these disparities include structural and societal racism, toxic stress and cumulative socioeconomic disadvantages.

The new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests the race of the attending doctor also plays an important role.

Researchers reviewed 1.8m hospital birth records in Florida from 1992 to 2015, and established the race of the doctor in charge of each newborn’s care.

When cared for by white doctors, black babies are about three times more likely to die in the hospital than white newborns.

This disparity halves when black babies are cared for by a black doctor.

Strikingly, the biggest drop in deaths occurred in complex births and in hospitals that deliver relatively more black babies, suggesting institutional factors may play a role.

The study found no statistically significant link between the risk of maternal mortality – which is also much higher for black and brown women – and the race of the mother’s doctor.

Why race concordance is so important in black infant mortality requires further research, but it may enhance trust and communication between doctor and mother, and black doctors may be more attuned to social risk factors and cumulative disadvantages which can impact neonatal care, according to Brad Greenwood, lead author from George Mason University in Virginia.

Unconscious racism among white doctors towards black women and their babies may also be at play.

For white newborns, the race of their doctor makes little difference to their chances of survival.

Despite the stark findings, black women seeking a black doctor to minimize the risk to their babies will struggle as the medical workforce remains disproportionately white. Only 5% of doctors are black, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges."
Finish reading about how Black babies are more likely to survive when cared for by black doctors
1 Comment

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    February 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016

    Categories

    All
    4th Trimester
    Anxiety
    Babies
    Baby
    Black Lives Matter
    Black Maternal Mental Health
    Black Motherhood
    Body Image
    Brain Health
    Breakup
    Breastfeeding
    Breast Milk Anitibodies
    Cannabis And Breastfeeding
    Childbirth
    Childhood Anxiety
    Children
    Climate Change
    Cognitive Dissonance
    Collaborative Commuication
    Communication
    Confidence
    Coping
    Coronavirus
    Counseling Scottsdale
    COVID 19
    COVID-19
    COVID 19 Vaccine And Pregnancy
    Depression
    Diversity
    Doom Spiral
    Dr. Rodriguez Siuts
    Dr. Rodriguez-siuts
    Early Relationships
    Easy Dinner Recipes
    Economy
    Emotion
    Empaths
    Empathy
    Essential Oils Safety While Pregnant
    Exercise
    Failure
    Family Moments
    Family Roadtrip
    Fathers
    Fear
    Feeding And Nutrition
    Fertility
    Finland
    Food And Mood
    Frontline Moms
    Gender Inequality
    Goal Setting
    Grief And Loss
    Guided Meditation
    Halloween Kids Crafts
    Happiness
    Happy Couples
    Healing
    Health
    Healthy Foods
    Healthy Gut
    Healthy Pregnancy
    Healthy Relationships
    Improved Mood
    Infant Mental Health
    Infertility
    Inner Peace
    Inspiration
    Kids At Home Art Activities
    Kids Mindfulness Activities
    Listening
    Marriage
    Maternal Mental Health
    Maternal Mental Health Disorders
    Maternal Mental Health Psychologist
    Maternity Costumes
    Meditation
    Meditation For Pregnancy
    Megan Markle
    Men And Postpartum Depression
    Men's Health
    Mental Health
    Mental Health Of Children And Parents
    Mindfullness
    Mindfulness
    Miscarriage
    Mom Guilt
    Mom Shaming
    Motherhood
    Mothers In Crisis
    Motivation
    Newborn
    New Mom
    Nighttime Affirmations
    Nutrition
    Nutrition For The Brain
    Pandemic
    Pandemic Parenting
    Pandemic Pregnancy
    Pandemic Unemployment
    Panic Attacks
    Parental Leave
    Parenting
    Perfectionism
    Performance
    Perimenopause
    Perinatal Anxiety
    Perinatal Depression
    Perinatal Mental Health
    Perinatalmooddisorders
    Personal Stories
    Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
    Positive Affirmations
    Positive Benefits Of Nature
    Positive Habits
    Positive Parenting
    Positive Pregnancy Affirmations
    Positive Self-Affirmations
    Postpartum
    Postpartum Anxiety
    Postpartum Care
    Postpartum Depression
    Postpartum Fitness
    Postpartum Healing
    Postpartum Health
    Postpartum Mental Health
    Postpartum Mood Concerns
    Postpartum OCD
    Postpartum Psychosis
    Postpartum Recovery
    Postpartum Scary Thoughts
    Postpartum Self Care
    Postpartum Self-care
    Postpartum Support
    Postpartum Workouts
    Preemies
    Pregnancy
    Pregnancy Costumes
    Pregnancy Insomnia
    Pregnancy Loss
    Pregnancy Meditation
    Pregnancy Nutrition
    Pregnancy Pillows
    Pregnancy Risks
    Pregnancy Stretches
    Pregnancy Yoga
    Prenatal Care
    Prenatal Depression
    Prenatal Massage
    Prenatal Self Care
    Prenatal Self-care
    Prenatal Workouts
    Prenatal Yoga Bedtime
    Procrastination
    Relationship Advice
    Relationships
    Remedies Pregnancy Gas
    Reproductive Mental Health
    Resiliency
    Sandra Rodriguez Siuts
    Sandra Rodriguez-siuts
    School Anxiety
    Scottsdale Psychologist
    Second Infertility
    Self-care
    Self-care Tips
    Self-esteem
    Setting Boundaries
    Sleep
    Sleep And Pregnancy
    Social Connectedness
    Social Justice
    Stay At Home Orders
    Staying Grounded
    Stillborn
    Stress
    Success
    Suicide
    Surrogacy
    Teaching Kids Manners
    Teen Mental Health
    Therapy
    Therapy Arizona
    Therapy Phoenix
    Therapy Scottsdale
    Time Management Tips
    Traumatic Birth
    Vacation
    Webinar
    Well-behaved Kids
    Wellness
    Women
    Women Losing Jobs
    Women's Health
    Women's Health Psychologist
    Womens Health Psychologist
    Womens Mental Health
    Womens Psychology
    Working Moms
    Workplace
    Youth Sports
    Zulresso

    RSS Feed

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
​SANDRA RODRIGUEZ-SIUTS, PH.D., LLC 

9590 E Ironwood Square Drive, Suite 210
Scottsdale, AZ 85258
Phone: (480) 473-5411
Fax: (480) 436-6900
© Copyright 2023 Sandra Rodriguez-Siuts, Ph.D. - All Rights Reserved
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
    • Prenatal and Postpartum Therapy
    • Reproductive Mental Health Therapy
    • General Maternal Mental Health
  • Patient Info
    • Patient Forms
    • Rates & Insurance
    • FAQ
    • Useful Therapeutic Apps
    • Patient Portal
  • Blog
  • Contact