Beyond the Baby Blues

Most people have heard of post-partum depression. What many people do not know is that anxiety and depression can be experienced during pregnancy, as well, and the impact can be both debilitating and devastating. This book is a unique combination of one woman's story of her struggle with perinatal distress and actionable advice from a professional in the field. Rebecca Fox Starr shares her personal story of marriage, motherhood, prenatal anxiety and depression, severe postpartum anxiety and depression, recovery process and hope for the future. Woven throughout the narrative, Dr. Amy Wenzel, a specialist in the field of Perinatal Mood Disorders, provides readers with clinical information and advice, addressing risk factors, warning signs, definitions and recovery options. Stories from other women who experienced prenatal anxiety or depression are included as well. No longer do women have to suffer in silence, question their symptoms, or try to hide their feelings. Here, readers will see themselves in the narrative and understand that the devastating effects of prenatal and post-partum depression can be confirmed, treated, and managed, giving them hope for a brighter future.

Rebecca Fox Starr is a writer, blogger, podcaster and mental health advocate with an unyielding desire to help other mental health sufferers. Among her greatest accomplishments, Rebecca has used the success of her blog, Mommy, Ever After, to create a private, online forum for women, in which they are able to open up about psychological and social issues that they would otherwise be too afraid to address. Her story has been featured in The New York Times, on ABC News and in all forms of media across the world. Rebecca lives and writes with her husband and two children in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Mommy, Ever After blog can be found at www.MommyEverAfter.com.

A Happy Story
Chapter 1. First Comes Love: A Pregnant Paws and Other Crazy tales
A Hard Story
Chapter 2: Professional Perspective on Prenatal Distress
Chapter 3: Uncomfortably Numb:
The beginning of My Prenatal Distress
Chapter 4: "I didn't know exactly what it was, but I knew to fear it":
My Prenatal Anxiety and Depression
Chapter 5: Violated Expectations of Magic:
Dr. Amy Wenzel's Clinical Experience with Prenatal Distress
Chapter 6: "I see the light going out in your eyes."
The beginning of My Postpartum Depression
Chapter 7: A bicycle built for two (if that bicycle was actually an ER suite):
My Severe Postpartum Depression
A Hopeful Story
Chapter 8: Support as a Key to Recovery
Chapter 9: Together, Ever After
Chapter 10: Hope