176: Mother Burnout

05/11/20 • 43 min

In honoring Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month, today’s topic is mother burnout. It’s something a lot of us moms feel, but we often don’t recognize it until it’s too late. Let’s learn more!

Diana Spalding is Digital Education Editor at Motherly, along with being a certified nurse-midwife, pediatric nurse, and mother of three. She wrote The Motherly Guide to Becoming Mama, which was just released. We’ll discuss what burnout means, why it’s important to pay attention, how to recognize the early signs, and what to do from there.

Show Highlights:

How Diana became interested in burnout
The facts: 85% of moms don’t feel supported by society
The “occupational phenomenon” of burnout, which is a diagnosable condition with real consequences
Characteristics of burnout: fatigue, exhaustion, negativism, cynicism, and not feeling like you’re doing a good job
Good mom, bad mom, and how we judge ourselves and each other
Contributing factors to mother burnout
How and when burnout begins
Why parents don’t trust themselves, and how we can empower them
How to recognize signs of burnout and be aware of your mental health
The importance of reaching out for help and finding connection
How certain factors related to the current pandemic contribute to burnout, like isolation, lack of support, and unreasonable demands
How our culture teaches us to deal with uncomfortable feelings
How our capacity for empathy and sympathy is stretched
Long-term effects of chronic stress
Diana’s book, a new resource with a holistic focus on mental health

Resources:

Motherly

Instagram: Motherly

Facebook: Motherly Media

The Motherly Guide to Becoming Mama: Redefining the Pregnancy, Birth, and Postpartum Journey by Diana Spalding, Jill Koziol, and LIz Tenety

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Show Highlights:

How Diana became interested in burnout
The facts: 85% of moms don’t feel supported by society
The “occupational phenomenon” of burnout, which is a diagnosable condition with real consequences
Characteristics of burnout: fatigue, exhaustion, negativism, cynicism, and not feeling like you’re doing a good job
Good mom, bad mom, and how we judge ourselves and each other
Contributing factors to mother burnout
How and when burnout begins
Why parents don’t trust themselves, and how we can empower them
How to recognize signs of burnout and be aware of your mental health
The importance of reaching out for help and finding connection
How certain factors related to the current pandemic contribute to burnout, like isolation, lack of support, and unreasonable demands
How our culture teaches us to deal with uncomfortable feelings
How our capacity for empathy and sympathy is stretched
Long-term effects of chronic stress
Diana’s book, a new resource with a holistic focus on mental health

Resources:

Motherly

Instagram: Motherly

Facebook: Motherly Media

The Motherly Guide to Becoming Mama: Redefining the Pregnancy, Birth, and Postpartum Journey by Diana Spalding, Jill Koziol, and LIz Tenety

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Previous Episode

175: Mom Genes Fight Postpartum Depression

May is Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month, and today, May 6, happens to be World Maternal Mental Health Day. It’s a fitting day to bring you this show with an expert who is the driving force behind a pioneering study to help diagnose postpartum depression earlier and get moms the treatment they need.

Dr. Samantha Meltzer-Brody, MD, MPH, is co-principal investigator of the Mom Genes Fight PPD research study, as well as the Assad Meymandi Distinguished Professor and Chair of the UNC Department of Psychiatry and director of the UNC Center for Women’s Mood Disorders. Her funded research is focused on understanding the genetic signature of postpartum depression and investigating novel technologies and treatment modalities to optimize and personalize treatment for women with perinatal depression. Most recently, this has included the MOM GENES app and the brexanolone clinical trials, the first FDA-approved medication for postpartum depression. She knows a lot, and she’s done a lot with her significant work in perinatal mental health.

Show Highlights:

What postpartum depression is and why Dr. Meltzer-Brody is studying it
The MOM GENES study that began in 2016 (learn how you can participate)
How the study can help us identify who is at risk so intervention can happen earlier
Who can participate in the study
The confidentiality and anonymity of the study
The availability of resources for participants in the study
How the DNA samples are collected and pooled together
How the genetic information will be used to determine treatment and outcomes
The preliminary findings: not all women have the same types of postpartum depression
Why women with co-occurring anxiety disorders are encouraged to apply for the study
Examples of postpartum depression and the signals that mean someone needs to seek help
How the study and the app have already helped people in many ways

Resources:

Mom Genes Fight PPD Learn how you can join the study from the comfort of your own home.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Next Episode

177: The Loss of a Postpartum Mother and Wife

No one will escape this life without feeling the pain of loss, and there is no better way to channel that pain than through creating something beautiful out of it. In today’s show, you’ll meet a devoted husband and father who wasn’t content to wallow in his loss on the sidelines. He’s turned his pain into purpose as he helps countless families through the challenges of maternal mental health treatment.

Steven D’Achille is president and founder of The Alexis Joy D’Achille Foundation for Postpartum Depression. He’s an advocate for maternal mental health issues because he realizes that women’s health is a family health issue. His passion is creating access to care for struggling families. He’ll go deep into his story today, sharing how postpartum depression took the life of his wife, Alexis. I’ve had the pleasure of serving on the board of Postpartum Support International with Steven, and I’ve seen up close his passion and dedication springing from the horrible and unnecessary outcome of his wife’s death. He is changing the landscape in Pittsburgh and wherever he goes to share his wife’s story and the foundation in her name. Steven is a passionate advocate for fathers, in addition to his support of maternal mental health because he realizes the need for caring for the whole family, especially fathers and partners. As his six-year-old daughter, Adriana puts it, “He wanted to change the world.”

**Sensitivity Notice: Difficult topics are discussed in this episode related to suicide. If you aren’t in a place to listen today, feel free to find the episode at a later date.

Show Highlights:

Get to know Steven and his story that began with the traumatic birth of his daughter, Adriana
How Steven’s wife, Alexis, believed that her first act of motherhood was to damage her child
How things started unraveling almost immediately for Alexis, who knew she needed help
How Alexis experienced serious anxiety and saw an LCSW for coping mechanisms, receiving a PTSD diagnosis
The increased anxiety, shame and stigma, and scary options
More symptoms included depression, insomnia, and loss of appetite
The disconnect between psychiatric care and Ob care for mothers
How HIPAA rules prevented the pediatrician from notifying anyone of her concerns about Alexis
How Alexis was prescribed an antidepressant and the depression escalated to suicidal thoughts; her plea for help went unacknowledged
How Alexis begged to be admitted for weeks and then hung herself in their basement--just 14 days after beginning the new antidepressant
How the system failed Alexis
How Alexis survived to get to the hospital and make it to ICU
How Steven got clarity on how to move forward and make something good come out of Alexis’ tragedy, to get other moms the help Alexis could not get
How The Alexis Joy D’Achille Foundation’s hospital treated 3000 moms in 2019
The family services provided by the foundation
The importance of a father’s perspective in going through this journey and raising a 6-1⁄2-year-old daughter without her mom
How our laws protect puppies more than we do moms and babies
The reality of postpartum depression treatment in the US---and what needs to change
The power in telling your story
What the new standard of care should be