Center for Fertility Psychology and Counseling

05/04/2024

Dr. Reed delivered a talk to Psychoanalysts today at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City!

01/25/2022

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/24/us/politics/child-tax-credit-brain-function.html

The research could have policy implications as President Biden pushes to revive his proposal to expand the child tax credit.

09/03/2017

Are you struggling with Postpartum depression or mood symptoms? You are not alone!
According to Psych News, "About 20% of women failed to disclose symptoms of postpartum mood disorder (PPMD) to their health care providers, while 46% said that barriers such as stigma and negative perception of therapy made it difficult or impossible to report such symptoms."
Call us at (404) 951-7401 and get the support you need today. We're here to help.
https://www.centermedpsych.com/

About 20% of women failed to disclose symptoms of postpartum mood disorder (PPMD) to their health care providers, while 46% said that...

09/03/2017

DEPRESSION MANAGEMENT DURING PREGNANCY
Dr. Brita Reed MD, PsyD, Center for Medical Psychology and Counseling

I’m sure you’re aware that women experiencing medical problems during pregnancy are commonly prescribed medication. But did you know that the most commonly prescribed medication during pregnancy in the US is an antidepressant (i.e., selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor [SSRI])? In fact, 8% of pregnant women in the US are on antidepressants.

But is anyone concerned about the effects of antidepressants on pregnant women and babies? Surprisingly, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved antidepressants for use during pregnancy. Why not? When you think about it, conducting a double-blind, placebo-controlled study among women who are pregnant and who have a diagnosis of depression would be considered unethical from a research perspective. As a result, we get all our data regarding the safety of antidepressants during pregnancy from large registry databases.

In 1979, the FDA developed a 5-letter classification system (i.e., A, B, C, D, X) for describing the safety of medications during pregnancy. But, unfortunately the FDA’s system has significant limitations and is seldomly updated despite the availability of new data. As a result, we have no reliable list of safe medications for use during pregnancy.

How, then, do you and your doctor decide what to do when you’re experiencing depression during pregnancy?

The good news is that you have options!

The first option is weekly or biweekly psychotherapy which can be very helpful for pregnant women with mild depression or anxiety. When considering this route, it’s important for you to find a psychotherapist who has lots of experience with pregnant and breastfeeding women experiencing depression. I would recommend this approach if your depression is mild.

But If your depression during pregnancy or postpartum is more severe, you should talk with your obstetrician about medication management. You may ask your obstetrician to be referred to a psychiatrist who has lots of experience managing depression during pregnancy. We know that the “safest” medication for your depression during pregnancy is the one that works well for you at the lowest effective dose. This means that both the type and dose of medication should be personalized to you. And at each prenatal visit, your obstetrician should be conducting a risk-benefit analysis to decide whether starting or continuing an antidepressant is right for you.

Is there a risk of untreated depression during pregnancy? You bet! Studies show that untreated depression during pregnancy leads to a higher risk of early delivery and low birth weight. In addition, children born to mothers with untreated depression tend to have more behavioral problems and attachment concerns.

So don’t hesitate to talk with your obstetrician about any sadness or depression you experience during pregnancy. You have options!
Call us for support: (404) 951-7401

07/22/2017

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/men-infertility_us_59020973e4b081a5c0fb7b0c

But doctors often leave them out of the conversation.

07/13/2017

PREGNANCY AFTER INFERTILITY
Dr. Brita Reed MD, PsyD, Center for Medical Psychology and Counseling

We would all assume that the sadness and anxiety associated with infertility treatment would disappear once a couple gets pregnant, right? After all, why should they be anything but ecstatic once they have a healthy pregnancy? Isn’t that what they have waited so long and worked so hard for?

In reality, couples who get pregnant after infertility treatment experience a whole host of complex emotions, including anxiety, irritability, depression, and guilt. Many couples who have a prolonged experience of losses associated with infertility treatment are often convinced that more losses are inevitable. Even after a pregnancy is achieved, they are afraid to hope. They hold their breath for what seems like the duration of the pregnancy. They tell us that, at best, they can only muster “cautious optimism.”

Even as a new pregnancy progresses over time and the grief of a previous pregnancy loss slowly diminishes, anxiety concerning the current pregnancy can dominate the couple’s mood. They often panic before each ultrasound and doctor’s visit. They may also feel the need to distance themselves emotionally from the pregnancy, itself, to protect them from the heartache of another loss. Ironically, this distancing, thought by the couple to be protective, can also be felt as another loss as the joy of the pregnancy is taken from them.

When we work with couples who are pregnant after infertility treatment, we reassure them that the spectrum of emotions that they feel is normal. This helps to lessen the guilt. We also help couples to process their experience of infertility and to understand the meaning of that loss in their lives. We help couples understand the lows of their experience so that they can enjoy the highs of pregnancy and parenting.

If you have experienced infertility and would like to better understand how that experience affects a current pregnancy, please call us at (404) 951-7401.

07/11/2017

http://alert.psychnews.org/2017/06/new-drug-shows-promising-results-in.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+PsychiatricNewsAlert+(Psychiatric+News+Alert)&m=1

In a small sample of women with severe postpartum depression, infusion of the compound brexanolone resulted in rapid, significant reducti...