True confession time. During my pregnancy, I purchased and read just about every book available on how to be prepared for a newborn. From The Happiest Baby on the Block to The Baby Whisperer to the official publications of the American Academy of Pediatrics, I read them all. What I didn't find were books on how to what to expect or how to take care of myself after the baby was born. And even as an Ob/Gyn, I was shocked at how ill prepared I was for the "4th trimester". As dis

Photo: Smiling through postpartum depression, about 2 months after giving birth to my wonderful boy. Suicide accounts for 20% of all deaths among women in the first year after giving birth the US. This makes suicide the second leading cause of death among women in the postpartum period. May is postpartum depression (PPD) awareness month. PPD is a condition that is starting to get more attention due to high profile moms like Chrissy Teigan, Hayden Panettiere and Adele speaking

As part of their ongoing investigation into the maternal health crisis in the US called "Lost Mothers", ProPublica posted a thought-provoking article "If you hemorrhage, don't clean up: Advice from Mothers Who Almost Died." They received stories from 3100 women after their initial article in this series was published. These stories further demonstrate the lack of priority we place on the health of women during and after childbirth. Highly recommended read for all women and th