by on August 19, 2019

What is Postpartum Depression

Childbirth can be an emotional experience for new parents. As you settle in with your bundle of joy, you might encounter something unexpected – depression. Postpartum depression is often left undiscussed but affects many parents. What separates this from postpartum “baby blues”? Sometimes a rare but more severe condition called postpartum psychosis can develop. 

Defining Postpartum Depression

By definition by the National Institute of Mental Health, postpartum depression is a mood disorder that can affect women and birthing parents after childbirth. New parents often experience “baby blues” after childbirth, where they might experience mood swings, crying spells, anxiety, and difficulty sleeping. The symptoms of postpartum depression may be similar but tend to be more severe and last longer, sometimes interfering with your ability to care for your baby and complete other daily tasks.  

Symptoms

Parents can experience depressed mood or severe mood swings, excessive crying, and difficulty bonding with their baby. Other common symptoms include changes in appetite, social withdrawal, and sleep disturbances. Symptoms will usually begin within the first few weeks after giving birth but may begin earlier (during pregnancy) or later, up to a year after birth. More severe symptoms may occur, such as thoughts of harming oneself or the baby, and these require serious and immediate attention. 

Causes

Physical changes and emotional issues play a role in postpartum depression, but there is no single cause for the condition. Hormonal changes after childbirth, such as dramatic drops in levels of progesterone and estrogen, may contribute to postpartum depression. Your risk of developing postpartum depression may increase if you have a history of depression or other mood disorders.

Treatments

Fortunately, postpartum depression is treatable.Treatment and recovery time will vary depending on your individual needs and the severity of the depression. Your medical provider will work on treating the underlying causes and may refer you to a mental health professional. Generally, treatment for depression includes psychotherapy, medication, or both. It is important to continue treatment even after you begin to feel better, as stopping treatment too early may lead to relapse.  Left untreated, postpartum depression can last for many months or longer. 

Filed Under: Dr. Lori Gore-Green, Health, New Moms, OBGYN, Pregnant, Women's Health Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,
by on July 30, 2014

Top Medical Center Undergoes Traumatic Event

Dr. Nakita Levy, Gynecologist at Johns Hopkins, Committed Suicide after Investigation for Recording Patients.

Dr. Nikita Levy, Gynecologist at Johns Hopkins, Committed Suicide after Investigation for Recording Patients.

In a recent article by The Boston Globe, Johns Hopkins is said to have to pay a $190 million in a gynecology settlement. A gynecologist at one of the world’s top medical centers, Johns Hopkins Health System, was fired after 25 years for secretly used tiny cameras to record and take pictures of his patients. Because of this, Johns Hopkins has been forced to pay $190 million to 8,000 women and girls that have been affected by this doctor’s actions. Dr. Nikita Levy was spotted by a female co worker with his pen like camera that he used around his neck and alerted authorities. Roughly 1,200 videos and 140 images where stored on his computers at home. After being investigated by authorities, Dr. Levy committed suicide.

Many women and girls were “brutalized” by this recent finding. Many had issues sleeping, they were unable to work, and ended up needing counseling. In the preliminary settlement which was approved by a judge on Monday, this was said to be one of the largest cases on record in the United States. Even though this case has been closed and never produced criminal charges, it still threatens the reputation of Johns Hopkins.

Lawyers working on the case state that thousands of women were traumatized even though their faces were not visible in the pictures and videos that were recovered. According to attorney, Howard Janet, 62 of the victims were young girls whose chaperones were sent out of the exam rooms by Dr. Levy, breaking hospital protocol. It is the hope of Johns Hopkins that the pictures are never leaked and that the victims involved in this recent case will achieve some sense of closer soon. Looking forward for the future, Johns Hopkins hopes that people will not think of the institute in a negative light after this recent case since the institute does so much good for the community.

Filed Under: Dr. Lori Gore-Green Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
by on April 28, 2014

Study Finds that Hormone Treatments Extend Survival of Lung Cancer

Hormones may be utilized for several purposes.

Hormones may be utilized for several purposes.

A study was recently conducted by Ann G. Schwartz, PhD, MPH, of Karmanos Cancer Institute of Detroit, Michigan.  Schwartz was the lead author on the study, which sought to observe the potential connection between hormone use and lung cancer outcomes in women.  The findings of the study were published in the March issue of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer’s journal—the Journal of Thoracic Oncology.  An article recently completed by Science Daily summarized the study and the findings.

Four hundred and eighty five women were included in the study.  At the start of the study, baseline data was collected, which included the stage of the disease at diagnosis, treatment type (surgery or radiation), smoking status, age, race and educational attainment.  Once this data was gathered, the only factor taken under consideration was the use of hormone therapy and its ability to predict the survival outcomes in women with lung cancer.  Some women were treated with just estrogen; others were given a combination of estrogen and progesterone.  On average, women diagnosed with lung cancer without any hormone therapy as treatment survive 37.5 months.  Those who are given hormone therapy survive, on average, eighty months.  Specific averages for patients given just estrogen survived approximately eighty-three months, while those who were provided with a combined treatment of estrogen and progesterone survived eighty-seven months.

From these findings, Schwartz was able to declare that reproductive and hormonal factors do influence women who have been diagnosed with non-small all lung cancer.  However, she disclaims that research in this field is limited and that further studies would be required to observe the effect these treatments could have on long-term sufferers from lung cancer.

Filed Under: Dr. Lori Gore-Green Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,