Mommy News - Vol. 1, Issue 5
Women's Rights, Mother's Rights
Stephanie Raffelock
The Magazine section of the August 22, 2009 New York Times featured the article "Why Women's Rights Are the Cause of Our Time." I am a long time advocate of women's rights. Coming of age in the early 70's, I watched the world change as women entered into professions that were once the sole domain of men. I witnessed other cultures try to catch up as more and more women did not want to be treated like fragile porcelain and felt completely capable to open their own doors, manage their own finances and create their own companies, thank you very much. Jokes from the previous generation about women's ditziness were replaced by jokes about men's bewilderment. The advertisement of the day was a cigarette ad by Virginia Slims that touted "You've Come A Long Way, Baby."
Those were heady, wonderful times. Young women today can easily take for granted that women are not barred from certain educational programs, clubs or employment because of gender. Women are free to choose marriage and a career or be a stay-at-home mom. Choice is the big word that women have won through decades and even centuries of liberating themselves from chattel. And these were hard won fights.
So it is stunning to realize that in other parts of the world, women can be beaten to death by their husbands without protection from the law. Women in some countries must wear burkas, so as not to have any part of their body seen. Honor Killings - a horrific tradition of killing a daughter or wife who is raped because she has brought dishonor to the family - has no ramifications in the countries where it is practiced. Brutality against women and girls exists far more than we would care to admit Poverty and ignorance are the biggest contributors to the oppression of women in underdeveloped countries and it is easy to say from our safe distance in the United states that the oppression of women, is something that happens "over there," and not here.
The same Sunday that I read the NY Times article about women, I also watched a story on the evening news channel about depression and pregnant women. The story talked about how 23% of all pregnant women were depressed and new guidelines were being set so that doctors knew how to "medicate" women during and after pregnancy. There was mention of talk therapy as a helpful component in mild cases and as usual, there was no mention of how good nutrition or supportive social structure might help alleviate depression in pregnancy and postpartum.
Juxtaposed, these two stories were a light bulb moment for me, and here is why: we continue to disempower and oppress women in this country through over-medication. I am careful here to use the word OVER medication. I am not against medication for depression, but I do question the numbers. Did you know that "in the United States, one in three doctor's visits by women involves an antidepressant prescription, 11 percent of women take antidepressants, and a 2007 study of pregnant women enrolled in a Tennessee Medicaid revealed that antidepressant use in pregnancy increased from 5.7 percent in 1999 to 13.4 percent in 2003." (Levine 1.) It is only recently, 2008, that Congress has begun to look at the financial relationships that drug companies have with both individual psychiatrists and the American Psychiatric Association.
Ten to twenty percent of mothers in the United States will experience some form of postpartum depression. The numbers are not so high in other countries. Why is that? In England women are given "home visits" after child birth to check in on their over-all health and moods. Their rate of postpartum depression is much lower. In China there is a postpartum custom called "peiyu" which means "attending." This custom requires that an older female relative help the new mother with domestic duties for a month. In Fiji, the postpartum rate is just 1%. There is a mandated "pregnancy recovery" period in Fiji of four months according to medical anthropologists Ann Becker and Dominic Lee. Given that most Fijian women do hard farm labor, this recovery period is crucial. It would seem from these examples that "social structure" is a component in whether or not women experience postpartum depression.
While drugs may be a short term emergency therapy for PPD, how is it that doctors reach their conclusions about who needs to be medicated? Like I said, I am not opposed to medication if it helps a woman, but shouldn't medication be something used as a last resort while we try to find out what the cause of the problem is, especially in the case of pregnant or nursing mothers? It will take a whole other newsletter to discuss the ramifications of medication on the fetus and in the breast milk.
Let's say that a woman does not have family nearby, has two toddlers at home and returns from the hospital 48 hours after giving birth with an infant in her arms. Four months later she is exhausted from lack of sleep and caring for two small children. She begins to cry frequently. She feels tired all of the time. Is she depressed or is she exhausted and what is the medical criteria for determining which is which? How do doctors, in the average 10 minute office call, make the crucial distinction between a woman who has "burned out" adrenal glands, an exhausted thyroid gland, or severe nutritional deficiencies, and those women who truly need antidepressant drugs? Do we give drugs to women that in reality may need some help in the form of family or community support? Do we give drugs to women who might benefit from nutritional supplementation and an afternoon nap? What exactly is the profile of a woman who needs antidepressant medicine and how does it differ from the profile of a woman who is overwhelmed and exhausted with the demands of new motherhood?
There have been some times in my life when I felt so tired and stressed that I cried. Did that mean I was depressed? There have been times when I just didn't seem to have the energy to do what needed to be done. Was that depression? How influenced are doctors and patients by pharmaceutical advertisements that tout the happy life through a magic pill? Social support structures in the form of universal, paid maternity leave and postpartum recovery leave, are non-existent in this country. Let's not forget that it took a mandate of congress in the 1990's to require health insurance companies to allow a full 48 hour hospital stay for women who had had normal vaginal births. For some women, I fear this is the only real rest and recuperation that they get after childbirth.
It's not that medicated women are oppressed women, but that our attitudes about whom we medicate, why and by what criteria, walks a thin line of overly-medicated women. And this speaks not so much to an alarming rise in PPD as it does an alarming rise in new drugs to treat depression, especially in a vulnerable segment of society whom the drug companies target.
I am an advocate of mother's rights and of women's rights. I believe that we have to take care of each other, to share our awareness about medication, talk therapy, nutritional support and available community support. We need to encourage our doctors to look at more than one paradigm for treating PPD, including nutritional support and alternative modalities. Each of us can be an advocate by offering support, listening, faith and experience with the mothers around us. And even as we grow older and our children leave home we can teach and take care of each other to assure that our rights as mothers, our rights as women are expanding and not shrinking under big Pharma or any other entity.
Q&A with Dr. Dean Raffelock
Q: My friend, who is a runner, says that she feels so good when she runs because of an endorphin rush. What's an endorphin rush and why does it make you feel good when you exercise?
A: Dr. Dean Raffelock: The word endorphin is derived from two words; endogenous and morphine. Endogenous means "made from within the body" and morphine is a very powerful, pain and stress relieving chemical. So the word endorphin means a powerful, mood elevating, pain-relieving chemical that is naturally made within the human body.
Your friend likes her "runners high" or "endorphin rush" because her running exercise helps to elevate her moods and relieve both physical and psychological pain. This is one of the main reasons why exercise has a natural antidepressant effect. Exercise also burns off the pain causing, stress chemicals that are made when we eat poorly, worry too much, and spend too much time in front of a computer.
This is why I encourage all pregnant and postpartum women to find and stick with an exercise program that works for them. For those women who follow our Sound Formulas' pregnancy and postpartum philosophy, we offer exercise expert Gabrielle Reece's Complete Fit and Healthy Pregnancy DVDs. Our commitment is to helping mothers create health, balance and peace in their lives. Our motto is "Strong, healthy women make strong, healthy families."
Send your questions about nutrition and health to Dr. Rafflock at: www.info@soundformulas.com
"The Complete Fit & Healthy Pregnancy Workout" by Gabrielle Reece is the best pregnancy and post-pregnancy workout we've ever seen!
Here is a yummy raspberry dressing, from my friend Lisa Turner, that will brighten up any salad:
Raspberry Vinaigrette:
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons all-fruit raspberry preserves
- 1 tablespoon mined shallots
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
- ¼ cup olive oil
- White pepper to taste
Put all ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake it up. Pour on Salad and toss. Serves 4
Exercise is healthy for mom and child during pregnancy and great for mom after pregnancy. The stress relieving chemicals created in the body during exercise not only make you feel better, but have a range of other helpful benefits:
- Eases back and musculoskeletal pain
- Lowers maternal blood pressure
- Reduces swelling
- Improves post-partum mood, including sadness
Walking when pregnant and walking with baby in the stroller is the Tension Tip of the Day.
Please visit our new blog at www.pregnancyrecovery.com so that I can stop blogging myself and talk with you! Hugs and love to all of you, dear mommies! ~Stephanie~
