Yesterday I blogged about the debate and high levels of anxiety that accompany the use of psychotropic medications during pregnancy and often during breastfeeding as well. A colleague of mine referred me to a TED Talk on the increase in birth defects all over the world that seems to be related to the relatively new chemical compounds used in agriculture, and used to produce other common household products. According to the scientist in this presentation (who studies frogs!),

Within the last year, several studies have been published linking the use of anti-depressants during pregnancy to scary outcomes in babies. Probably the most disturbing was a study published last summer in the Archives of General Psychiatry linking anti-depressant use during pregnancy to an increased risk of autism spectrum disorders. Just last month, a study was published in the British Medical Journal linking usage of anti-depressants during pregnancy to persistent pulmonar

If you follow me on Twitter, then you know that yesterday I gave a talk on self-care for the Maternal and Child Health Program in the School of Public Health at UIC. (which is an amazing program!) This was such a great opportunity for me to consolidate all the reading, studying, and practicing I’ve been doing in this area for myself and to help my psychotherapy clients. One of the researchers/writers/storytellers that inspired my talk was Dr. Brene Brown. She is a PhD social