FINAL PROJECT: Abstract and Reader's Reponse > Supporting New Mothers against Influence by Social Expectations and Identifying Signs of Postpartum Depression: A Health Practitioner Guide
Abstract: More and more today, new mothers are bombarded by the message that “breast is best”, reflected heavily in our society’s ideals and even our hospital policies. These ideals create expectations for mothers to impart their newfound motherhood in the supposedly most natural way, but when their bodies naturally don’t respond in accordance to these expectations, they can’t help but feel shame. From online community forums which spit false statistics to filtered motherhoods documented by bloggers, the internet fuels these expectations. In medicine, there are Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative-certified hospitals where, if the mother wants to formula-feed, the hospital has to warn them of the possible consequences to the baby’s health. Furthermore, the consequences of breastfeeding expectations and their associations with postpartum depression are the subject of many new studies. As the CDC reports, while it varies from state to state, as high as 1 in 5 women experience postpartum depression. It is therefore imperative that medical practitioners, in addition to their duties in taking care of the patient’s physical well being, also practice communicating with the patient to push back on social expectations as well as to pay more notice to signs of postpartum depression and provide further guidance on treatment. This guide for medical practitioners aims to do exactly that through background information on why this issue is relevant to medical practitioner’s communication with the patient, through testimony, and through sample scenarios of interactions with patients with postpartum depression and/or breastfeeding expectations.
WC: 243
Reader’s Profile: The reader will most likely be a healthcare professional, especially an OB/GYN or a medical school student on a obstetrics and gynecology rotation.
Reader’s Response: I believe that once those mothers have already had those breastfeeding expectations inculcated in their minds, anything I say won’t convince them otherwise. I would also have liked to see more statistics and more concrete research findings on the associations between mother’s breastfeeding expectations and postpartum depression. Also, it is easier said than done to refer a patient for follow up on potential postpartum depression due to social stigmas on depression. How would I deal with that?
WC: 243
Reader’s Profile: The reader will most likely be a healthcare professional, especially an OB/GYN or a medical school student on a obstetrics and gynecology rotation.
Reader’s Response: I believe that once those mothers have already had those breastfeeding expectations inculcated in their minds, anything I say won’t convince them otherwise. I would also have liked to see more statistics and more concrete research findings on the associations between mother’s breastfeeding expectations and postpartum depression. Also, it is easier said than done to refer a patient for follow up on potential postpartum depression due to social stigmas on depression. How would I deal with that?