Dealing With Postpartum Depression. Help for New, Depressed Mom?
Q.I recently read that increasing the intake of omega-3 fatty acids may be helpful in dealing with postpartum depression. The baby uses these fatty acids to build its brain, so they get depleted during pregnancy and then continue to be used during BFing. Salmon is an excellent source of these fatty acids. The paper I read suggested a serving a week would be a good start and the author stated it had helped some of her patients. Can't remember where I read that...
A.If in fact that's true, eggs might be a good source. Not sure about the production/availability of omega-3 fortified eggs in other places, but there are a coupe of different varieties of eggs in Ontario which have been designed (ie hens are fed special diets) to contain more omega-3. DH bought a dozen of these last time we were out of eggs (which we don't use very much), and they tasted just fine. Not sure how the eggs are produced, though. DH bought them becaue he remembered hearing about them from the summer I was working for the major farmers' lobby in Ottawa -- and spent days at a time researching the various producers' info and websites ;-) Dh didn't notice amajor difference in price for these eggs. Just thought I'd share. If anyone's interested, I *know* that the Ontairo producer atleast has a web presence (or did, in '98) -- can't remember the site but a web search for eggs & omega-3 might do the trick The very first thing I will mention is you going out to help her is the best thing right now (assuming that this is what she wanted). I know that when my mom and MIL came to help, I wanted them to do the things that I couldn't do, like cleaning up and cooking food, not necessarily taking care of Jenna. That said, it was also very nice to nurse Jenna and hand her off to someone else to rock, while I tried to catch up on my sleep. So, having an extra pair opf hands will come in handy for her. Just make sure that you are doing the chores that *she* wants you to do and not neceesarily the ones that you think should be done. Secondly, I think any one of your three suggestions for gifts sounds nice. However, the bath items may not come in handy for a while. I know that I felt almost guilty taking long baths while Jenna was so small, and I didn't want to use any scented items that might interfere with nursing. I am a big reader, and there is nothing more relaxing to me than having an hour or so to read in peace. If she is like that, she might really love a Mother's book, or even just some trashy novel or magazine that doesn't take much thought to read. She might not like any smushy/sentimental books, especially on motherhood, if she is depressed.
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