Karen Kleiman

I wish I'd had this book postpartum. It's still good to read now, both personally and of course professionally. I have seen the cartoons circling the internet and I'm grateful there's an awareness campaign regarding postpartum depression and anxiety. It's an important topic not addressed sufficiently and definitely not in sufficient detail (the anxiety part is so important!) in our society so I'm happy to see it presented in an accessible format.

One of my complaints is that it's pretty show more hetero- and cisnormative and I'd love to see it expanded in future editions. All the partners are male and everyone seems to identify as female.

My other main issue is that this book seems very targeted towards middle-class and above mothers, and even among them mothers of a specific type. The part about barriers to getting help and talking to healthcare providers didn't really address the reality that Medicaid (at least in Illinois) cuts off at 6 weeks postpartum - and many psychiatrists don't accept Medicaid or the managed care plans that go with it. No one is stressed about having to go back to work at their minimum wage job at one week postpartum. I LOVE emphasizing self-care but what does that look like when you have no disposable income and no gym membership or money for daycare (like in the accompanying cartoon)?

And I love the diversity of skin tones but there are more types of inclusivity. I wish that, in parts when discussing having more than one child, a range of family sizes was depicted. Where is the depressed/anxious mother who just had her 7th baby? The book discusses allowing time for your body to go back to a pre-baby weight but where are the mamas who were plus-size pre-pregnancy?

I don't want to give the wrong impression - I like this book a lot and think it's incredibly valuable. I just 1) have a professional opinion as a midwife and 2) think it could be even better and I'd love to push it further in a next edition. show less

I wish I had received this book before I was hospitalized for postpartum anxiety and depression. However, even receiving it after the fact has been such an incredible blessing. This book distills and reaffirms a lot of things that I learned when I was a patient at a perinatal mood disorder clinic. Most importantly, it made me feel less alone. It has been over a year now since my worst symptoms presented, but this book has still helped me to be the mother I want to be, to reflect and ground show more myself using common helpful exercises utilized in DBT, and I plan to cling to it like a life raft when I have more children. I do not plan on letting my fear of future PPA flares prevent me from raising, loving, and competently caring for future children. I am grateful to have this book for validation and reference in kind. It is a tremendous asset to mothers and their families. show less