Postpartum Depression and Psychosis: What Every Mother Should Know
What happens when the emotional transition to motherhood becomes something more than just “the baby blues”?
In this episode of HERology, hosts Dr. Joanne Stone and Dr. Anna Barbieri sit down with internationally recognized maternal mental health expert Dr. Veerle Bergink, Director of the Women’s Mental Health Center at Mount Sinai, to explore one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of women’s health: postpartum mental health.
From the common and temporary "baby blues" to postpartum depression and the rare but serious condition of postpartum psychosis, Dr. Bergink helps distinguish what is normal during the emotional transition to motherhood and what may require professional attention. The conversation examines how hormonal shifts, sleep deprivation, breastfeeding challenges, prior mental health conditions, social support systems, and societal expectations can all influence a mother's well-being after childbirth.
Joanne Stone: Welcome to HERology, the podcast from the Mount Sinai Health System dedicated to advancing women's health through the lens of cutting-edge science and compassionate care. I'm your host for today, Dr. Joanne Stone, and our show is brought to you by the Carolyn Rowan Center for Women's Health and Wellness.
Today, we're shining a light on a critical topic that has been receiving a lot of attention from the news media recently, but one that oftentimes is not discussed, the emotional and psychological changes after childbirth. Having a baby is typically portrayed as one of the happiest periods in a woman's life.
For many women, however, the postpartum period can also bring significant emotional and mental health challenges. In this episode of Herology, we're joined by an internationally renowned expert in maternal mental health, Dr. Veerle Bergink, who is the director of Mount Sinai's Women's Mental Health Center.
Along with my co-host, Dr. Anna Barbieri, we explore the spectrum of [00:01:00] postpartum mental health, including postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis.
Joanne Stone: So Veerle, there was a recent article in The New York Times, and it was all about how there's this drop-off of caring for women after childbirth. So during pregnancy, they're just the main focus.
You're seeing them, the doctor or the midwife is seeing them every four weeks, every two weeks, weekly. And then after they deliver, it's like at six weeks they're just done. You know, nobody is taking care of them or looking after them. So given, like, the high rate of mental health and suicide and things like that, what are we doing wrong?