We are failing postpartum moms

Also: We Irish are more than folks songs and whiskey [View in browser](    [❤️]( March 19, 2023 Dear Cog reader, Chelsea Conaboy begins [her essay about postpartum mood and anxiety disorders]( with a haunting story from one Concord mother: Ashley Healy. She experienced deep sadness and loneliness after her first child, but no one told Healy she’d been diagnosed with postpartum depression, or referred her for treatment or therapy. Nobody explained that she was at risk for developing it again after another pregnancy — which she did, about five weeks after her third child was born. There are so many disturbing facts in Chelsea’s piece. One is the prevalence of postpartum disorders: the [data suggest]( it affects between 1 in 5 or 7 birthing parents. Another is that mental health conditions are among the most common underlying causes of U.S. maternal deaths ([which are climbing]( according to the National Center for Health Statistics). In 2019, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force formally recommended that doctors screen pregnant people for these disorders and offer treatment — covered by insurance companies. It was an important step, cheered by patient advocates and health care providers. You’d think between the massive number of people affected — and the potentially dire consequences of a failure to treat — every OB-GYN and insurer in America would be clamoring to help before people are in crisis. But, you’d be wrong. “In the United States, it's almost as if we accept postpartum depression as an inevitable outcome,” Chelsea writes. “We drop new parents in the stream, with a promise to catch them — if we can.” Chelsea is a health and science journalist, and she spent three years studying the science of the parental brain. Her book, “Motherbrain,” examines the “profound neurobiological upheaval that occurs during pregnancy and in the immediate weeks and months after birth” and how these changes help us adapt to new parenthood and also make us vulnerable to mental illness. She does a fantastic job helping readers understand the data, interrogating the “whys” of how our health care system has failed over and over again, and offering suggestions on the way forward. The essay made me think back on my own postpartum experience, and wonder about my friends. One reader pointed out that it can be hard for us to identify the line between suffering and struggling — especially when the message to new parents seems to be: Yep, having a newborn is hard. Deal with it.  But as Chelsea writes:"[S]truggle is an inherent part of the process of becoming a parent. But suffering in that struggle shouldn’t be." I’m hoping this essay makes people feel less alone, and offers some hope. If you or someone you know has experienced postpartum depression or any postpartum mood or anxiety disorder, we’d love to hear from you. Thank you for reading, Cloe Axelson Senior Editor, Cognoscenti [Follow]( Support the news   Must Reads [We are failing postpartum mothers — even though we know how to help them]( In the United States, it's almost as if we accept postpartum depression as an inevitable outcome, writes Chelsea Conaboy. We drop new parents in the stream, with a promise to catch them — if we can. [Read more.]( [We are failing postpartum mothers — even though we know how to help them]( In the United States, it's almost as if we accept postpartum depression as an inevitable outcome, writes Chelsea Conaboy. We drop new parents in the stream, with a promise to catch them — if we can. [Read more.]( [We Irish are more than folks songs and whiskey]( Too often Ireland is rendered as a reductive and clichéd version of a country that, like all nations, has its nuances, contradictions and dualities, writes Aine Greaney. [Read more.]( [We Irish are more than folks songs and whiskey]( Too often Ireland is rendered as a reductive and clichéd version of a country that, like all nations, has its nuances, contradictions and dualities, writes Aine Greaney. [Read more.]( [My daughter didn’t belong. I worried I’d failed her]( No one left my daughter out on purpose. But when your kid is different, she is always at the edge of the group, writes Caitlin O'Neil. [Read more.]( [My daughter didn’t belong. I worried I’d failed her]( No one left my daughter out on purpose. But when your kid is different, she is always at the edge of the group, writes Caitlin O'Neil. [Read more.]( [Students like mine will suffer if they must hide their race in college essays]( Our nation’s highest court is on the cusp of telling millions of children that educators will no longer be able to fully consider their stories, writes Kate Peltz. [Read more.]( [Students like mine will suffer if they must hide their race in college essays]( Our nation’s highest court is on the cusp of telling millions of children that educators will no longer be able to fully consider their stories, writes Kate Peltz. [Read more.]( What We're Reading "The lack of understanding means that potentially millions of sick children are not getting the treatments they need." "[A battle is raging over long covid in children]( MIT Technology Review. "Saturday [marked] the 33rd anniversary of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist. And while the 13 stolen artworks have not been found, a group of artists have managed to bring them back to life — with a twist." "[13 stolen works of art, reimagined]( Boston.com. "We are already failing to stop runaway climate change. Adding this carbon bomb to the total makes it worse – both for the actual damage to the climate and for the signal the US is sending to the world." "[Biden just betrayed the planet – and his own campaign vows]( The Guardian. "It’s almost as if we accept postpartum depression as an inevitable outcome." — Chelsea Conaboy, "[We are failing postpartum mothers — even though we know how to help them]( ICYMI [When I was governor, I wanted people to look beyond my hair and hemlines. I still do]( I didn’t fit the profile of what a governor should look like, and I paid for it dearly, writes former Massachusetts acting Gov. Jane Swift. I’ve never forgotten that feeling. [Read more.]( [When I was governor, I wanted people to look beyond my hair and hemlines. I still do]( I didn’t fit the profile of what a governor should look like, and I paid for it dearly, writes former Massachusetts acting Gov. Jane Swift. I’ve never forgotten that feeling. [Read more.]( If you’d like to write for Cognoscenti, send your submission, pasted into your email and not as an attachment, to opinion@wbur.org. Please tell us in one line what the piece is about, and please tell us in one line who you are. 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📧 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.]( Support the news     Want to change how you receive these emails? Stop getting this newsletter by [updating your preferences.](  I don't want to hear from WBUR anymore. Unsubscribe from all WBUR editorial newsletters [here.](  Interested in learning more about corporate sponsorship? [Click here.]( Copyright © 2022 WBUR-FM, All rights reserved.