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| Foreword | |
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| Introduction | |
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| About This Book | |
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| Conventions Used in This Book | |
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| What You're Not to Read | |
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| Foolish Assumptions | |
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| How This Book Is Organized | |
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| Bringing Postpartum Depression into the Light: What It's All About | |
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| The Three Little Letters: PPD and You | |
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| Diagnosis Confirmed: Looking at the Treatment Options for PPD | |
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| Traveling the Road to Recovery | |
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| Moving Beyond PPD | |
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| The Part of Tens | |
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| Icons Used In This Book | |
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| Where to Go from Here | |
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| Bringing Postpartum Depression into the Light: What It's All About | |
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| The Big Adjustment: Welcome to Motherhood | |
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| The Reality of Motherhood: Let Bootie Camp Begin! | |
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| The Reality of Postpartum Depression (PPD) | |
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| Debunking Denial: A Glimpse from Yours Truly | |
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| Denial's more than a river in Egypt | |
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| Why some doctors may be hush-hush about PPD | |
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| When Depression Begins in Pregnancy | |
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| Distinguishing between pregnancy hormone changes and PPD | |
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| Understanding the urgency of getting help at this stage | |
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| A Brief Overview of Treating and Recovering from PPD | |
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| Timing is everything, so begin your treatment now | |
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| Knowing your three main treatment options | |
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| Fostering recovery on your own | |
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| Before You Begin, Take Some Hope for the Journey | |
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| These Ain't No Baby Blues: PPD, Up Close and Personal | |
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| Baby Blues: Cute Name for a Crummy Time | |
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| What the lighter side looks like | |
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| Getting support | |
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| When the Misty Blues Turn to Darker Hues | |
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| Distinguishing between baby blues and PPD | |
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| Identifying the symptoms of PPD | |
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| Understanding the risk factors | |
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| Considering Special Situations Where PPD May Be on the Horizon | |
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| If Baby is seriously ill | |
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| If Baby passes on | |
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| If babies come in pairs (or more) | |
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| If you're a teenage mom | |
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| Extending beyond Biological Moms: PPD in Dads and Adoptive Moms | |
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| Letting go of preconceptions: Dads with PPD | |
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| Feeling the weight without the labor: Adoptive moms | |
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| You Mean There's More? Five Related Postpartum Disorders | |
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| Penciling in Some Lines: A Quick Comparison of Mood Disorders | |
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| When Fear Strikes: Panic Disorder | |
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| Searching for the root of an attack | |
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| Calming your panic | |
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| Helping others help you | |
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| Facing the Aftermath: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder | |
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| Reducing post-traumatic stress | |
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| Helping others help you | |
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| Breaking the Cycle: Handling Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) | |
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| The obsessive side of OCD | |
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| The compulsive side of OCD | |
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| Putting OCD to bed | |
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| Helping others help you | |
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| Riding the Emotional See-Saw: Bipolar Disorder | |
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| Balancing the scales of bipolar disorder | |
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| Helping others help you | |
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| Immediate Attention Needed: Psychosis | |
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| Combating psychosis | |
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| Warning your loved ones | |
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| The Three Little Letters: PPD and You | |
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| Looking Within: Is PPD Your Big Bad Wolf? | |
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| Facing the Beast Head-On: Tuning In to Your Emotions | |
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| Minding Your Mentality: A Look at Self-Talk and Dark Thoughts | |
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| Hearing what you say to yourself | |
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| Recognizing the difference between fantasies and reality: A word about suicide | |
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| Watching for Warning Signs of the Physical Kind | |
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| Evaluating Your Postpartum Slump | |
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| A Professional Assessment: What's Huffing and Puffing at Your Mind's Door? | |
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| The Difficulties of the Diagnosis | |
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| Taking a Pre-Assessment: The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale | |
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| Answering a handful of questions | |
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| Discussing your pre-assessment with a professional | |
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| Receiving a Competent Professional Assessment | |
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| Making sure your doctor has proper PPD training | |
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| Going another round to establish a diagnosis | |
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| Reacting to Your Diagnosis | |
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| Seeking Out a Therapist to Keep Your Proverbial House Standing | |
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| Understanding the Role and Importance of a Therapist | |
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| Finding the Motivation to Go to Therapy: Demolishing Mental Blockades | |
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| In the beginning: Contemplating therapy | |
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| Confronting fear of the "therapy" label | |
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| Knowing that therapy doesn't mean you're weak | |
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| Revisiting previous bad experiences with therapy | |
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| Gracefully accepting your need for help | |
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| Understanding your partner's reaction | |
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| Talking yourself into, not out of, therapy | |
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| Seeking Help When You Suspect You Have PPD | |
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| Finding the Right Therapist for You | |
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| Knowing what to look for in a therapist | |
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| The gender bender: The equal weights of Mars and Venus | |
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| Choosing a Licensed Therapist | |
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| Sorting through the assortment of therapists | |
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| Other potentially helpful professionals | |
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| Paying for Therapy: Don't Shortchange Yourself | |
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| Locating a Therapist or Counselor | |
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| Assessing the Therapist You've Chosen | |
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| Diagnosis Confirmed: Looking at the Treatment Options for PPD | |
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| Venting Your Mind and Heart: Psychological Treatment | |
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| Knowing What to Expect From Therapy | |
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| The first point to remember: Keep your expectations realistic | |
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| Partnering with your therapist | |
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| The mechanics of therapy: Where, when, and how long | |
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| Grasping the length of the therapeutic process | |
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| Deciding when to show or when to go | |
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| Making the Most of Therapy | |
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| Assessing your needs | |
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| Putting out the fire before rewiring the house | |
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| Developing a wellness plan | |
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| Letting the nature of therapy take its course | |
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| Ending Therapy and Staying Healthy | |
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| Attending Groups | |
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| Counteracting a Chemical Cause: Medical Treatments | |
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| Recognizing the Benefits of Medication on Depression | |
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| Who You Gonna Call? A Psychiatrist, That's Who | |
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| Understanding why a psychiatrist is essential | |
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| Knowing where to go if you can't get to a psychiatrist | |
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| Addressing Concerns about Taking Prescribed Meds | |
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| The most common general worries | |
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| "Is taking meds while nursing safe?" | |
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| "How do I know I'm not dealing with a thyroid problem?" | |
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| Specific Types of Medical Treatments for PPD | |
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| Antidepressants | |
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| Antianxiety meds | |
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| Sleep aids | |
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| Mood stabilizers | |
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| Antipsychotic meds | |
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| Electroconvulsive therapy | |
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| Understanding the Fact that Finding the Right Med(s) is a Process | |
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| Identifying the important health-related differences among women | |
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| Staying the course after you receive a prescription | |
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| Side Effects: You Can't Always Get Just What You Want | |
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| Knowing When to Begin Med Therapy | |
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| All Things Natural: Alternative Treatments | |
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| Introducing the World of Alternative Treatments | |
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| Looking back on the rise of alternative treatments | |
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| Sorting out basic treatment-type terminology | |
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| Combating the negative stigma of the alternative route | |
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| Alternative Treatments that Make the Cut for Their Success | |
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| Energy work | |
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| Exercise | |
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| Guided imagery | |
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| Light therapy | |
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| Massage | |
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| Meditation | |
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| Omega-3 fatty acids | |
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| SAMe | |
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| Alternative Treatments that May Add a Bit of Benefit | |
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| Acupuncture | |
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| Applied kinesiology | |
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| Ayurveda | |
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| Chiropractic therapy | |
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| Herbs | |
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| Homeopathy | |
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| Hormones | |
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| Hypnotherapy | |
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| Reflexology | |
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| Yoga | |
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| Administering Alternative Treatments: You and a Pro | |
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| Who's who in the name game | |
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| Searching for Other Alternative Treatments: Be on Guard! | |
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| Creating a Comprehensive Treatment Plan | |
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| The Three Components: Finding the Right Balance for You | |
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| Conventional Therapy or Alternative? A Quick Comparison | |
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| Coordinating the Plan | |
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| Letting a good doc guide the way | |
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| Meeting with a psychiatrist | |
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| Working with two therapists | |
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| Doing a bit of research | |
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| Making sure you're on the same page as your doc | |
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| Reacting to a doctor who stands her ground | |
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| Adding Professionals to Your Treatment Team | |
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| Getting Your Team Members to Huddle | |
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| As You Go through Treatment | |
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| Determining what's working | |
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| Knowing when it's time to try something else | |
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| Ah, the Good Stuff: Dealing with Insurance | |
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| Putting a price on happiness | |
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| Making the grade: Understanding the "in-network" mumbo-jumbo | |
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| Traveling the Road to Recovery | |
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| Getting the Most Out of Your Treatment | |
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| Recognizing the Stages of Recovery | |
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| Accepting PPD as a force to be reckoned with | |
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| Fear: Feeling the weight of self-doubt | |
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| Impatience: Wanting to shove Father (or Mother) Time forward | |
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| Glimmers of light: Experiencing moments of feeling good again | |
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| Recognizing the old you | |
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| Keeping the Faith: Ways to Foster Recovery | |
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| Staying in the present | |
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| Charting your progress to see success | |
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| Being kind to yourself | |
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| Loving your body (and respecting yourself, too) | |
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| Celebrating your successes | |
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| Playing your part in your treatment team | |
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| Setting the Supermom Cape Aside: Caring For Yourself | |
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| Eat and Drink Your Heart Out, Baby! (The Healthy Way, of Course) | |
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| Boosting your mood with food | |
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| Hydrating your brain | |
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| Taking nutritional supplements | |
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| Making Sure You Get Some Winks | |
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| Starting with the ideal plan | |
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| Making do with whatcha' got | |
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| Working through the challenges | |
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| Shakin' It for Your Love | |
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| Taking Regular Breaks | |
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| Avoiding burnout | |
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| Figuring out what to do with yourself | |
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| Staying Social | |
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| Cocooning versus unhealthy isolation | |
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| Confiding in people you're comfortable with | |
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| Creating a Positive Ambience | |
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| Muffling the noise | |
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| Getting away from cabin fever (without leaving the house!) | |
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| Soaking in some vitamin D | |
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| Trading the rags for britches | |
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| Shutting off the boob (tube) | |
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| Reading airy fluff, not serious stuff | |
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| Giving Yourself Permission to Set Limits | |
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| Reaching out and asking for assistance | |
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| Accepting help when it's offered | |
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| Structuring Your Day | |
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| Making lists | |
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| Setting yourself up for success | |
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| Knowing It's Okay to Lighten Your Load | |
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| Deciding whether to take it on | |
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| Slacking for the good of your health | |
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| Coping with Your Feelings | |
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| Learning to Ride the Waves | |
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| Facing Your Feelings Head On | |
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| Throwing a party for yourself! A pity party, that is | |
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| Releasing your perfect pictures | |
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| Letting your worries float away | |
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| Boosting Your Self-Esteem | |
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| Assessing your self-esteem | |
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| Improving your self-esteem | |
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| Knowing What You Can and Can't Control | |
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| Coming to terms with the truth | |
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| Relinquishing the reins to your partner | |
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| Responding to Others Honestly (But Appropriately!) | |
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| Taking a timeout when you feel snippy | |
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| Dealing with comments that put you on the defensive | |
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| Forcing Yourself to Laugh | |
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| Finding Somebod(ies) to Lean On | |
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| Emerging from under the Sheets | |
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| Accepting the fact that you need a support circle | |
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| Deciding whom to tell | |
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| Diversifying Your Support Team | |
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| Your partner | |
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| Home sweet home: The core of your support | |
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| Extending the innermost circle | |
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| Increasing the circumference to outside communities | |
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| Explaining Your Depression to Others | |
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| Adapting your info according to the listener | |
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| Getting personal with other adults | |
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| Giving the gist to older kids | |
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| Finding a Healthy Balance between Support and Self-Sufficiency | |
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| Helping Your Partner Help You | |
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| Understanding Your Partner's Role in the Battle | |
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| Dealing with Your Partner When You Want to Be Left Alone | |
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| Kindly explaining your need for solace | |
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| Keeping your cool | |
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| Minding your partner's need for space | |
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| Communicating Effectively on a Regular Basis | |
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| Listening, not just hearing | |
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| Scheduling regular debriefing sessions | |
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| Telling your partner what you need (without making him guess or making him wrong) | |
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| Maintaining sensitivity in your speech | |
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| Seeing a Therapist Together: Benefiting from an Extra Set of Brains | |
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| Getting Support when Friends and Family Make You Feel Worse | |
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| Sharing Responsibilities | |
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| Having a business meeting | |
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| Splitting household chores for now and always | |
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| Handling money matters | |
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| Watering Your Relationship and Letting It Grow | |
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| Continuing the dating stage | |
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| Enjoying Mars and Venus: Sex (for him) and intimacy (for you) | |
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| Showing love to your partner even when you feel empty | |
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| Helping the One You Love: A Chapter for Family, Friends, and Partners | |
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| Reacting in a Healthy, Helpful Way | |
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| Showing your understanding and unconditional support | |
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| Acknowledging your difficult feelings | |
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| Keeping your lips sealed | |
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| Getting Information if Depression Is Foreign to You | |
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| Thickening Your Skin: Not Taking Things Personally | |
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| The negative actions or reactions aren't about you! | |
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| You aren't the trigger (or the fixer) of your loved one's PPD | |
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| Caring for Yourself | |
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| ...To benefit her | |
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| ...To benefit you | |
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| Keeping Kindness in Your Countenance | |
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| Continually caring even when you're frustrated | |
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| Holding closely the virtue of patience | |
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| Radiating optimism and hope | |
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| Putting Your Love into Action | |
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| Listening without trying to fix her (or her problems) | |
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| Providing the partner support she needs | |
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| Lending a helping hand | |
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| Encouraging healthy habits | |
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| Referring her to helpful resources | |
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| When PPD Escalates: Recognizing the Warning Signs of Suicide | |
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| Practicing Sensitivity: Knowing What's Okay and Not Okay to Say | |
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| Leaving constructive criticism by the wayside | |
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| Lauding her efforts | |
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| Keeping her stress under wraps | |
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| Steering clear of mentioning her shortfalls | |
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| Making her sure of your loyalty | |
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| Moving Beyond PPD | |
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| Delight at the End of the Tunnel: Emerging with a New Sense of Self | |
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| Looking Back: Build Yourself Up, Buttercup | |
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| Remembering the past: The healing gift that lasts | |
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| Congratulating yourself for pressing on the journey of healing | |
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| Completing and "anchoring in" the healing process | |
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| Taking Back the Reigns | |
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| Setting realistic goals | |
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| Making decisions again | |
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| Taking over tasks | |
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| Feeling Like Yourself...Or Even Better | |
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| Deciding Whether to Have Another Baby | |
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| First Things First: Assessing Your Intentions | |
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| Making an Informed Decision, Sans Fear | |
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| Sizing up your risk of getting PPD again | |
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| Knowing the truth about PPD and postpartum psychosis | |
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| Planning Ahead if You Decide to Pass Go | |
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| Arming yourself early on | |
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| Surveying the elements of a postpartum plan | |
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| Putting your plan on paper | |
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| Undergoing professional consultations | |
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| Considering an antidepressant as a preventive means | |
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| Trusting Your Decisions | |
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| The Part of Tens | |
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| Ten Common Fantasies about Motherhood | |
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| This Should Be the Happiest Time in My Life | |
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| I Should Be Able to Do Everything Myself | |
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| I Shouldn't Need Breaks | |
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| My Life Won't Change That Much | |
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| My Needs Shouldn't Matter | |
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| Bonding Happens Immediately at Birth | |
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| Breastfeeding Is Natural, So It Should Come Easily | |
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| Mothering Is Instinctual | |
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| I Should Feel Satisfied Being a Stay-at-Home Mom | |
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| My Baby Will Be My Companion | |
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| Ten Thoughts to Focus on Throughout the Day | |
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| PPD Is an Illness, Not a Weakness | |
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| Seeking Help is Courageous | |
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| I'm a Good Mom | |
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| PPD is Temporary - I Will Recover | |
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| It's Important That I Take Care of Myself | |
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| I'm Doing the Best I Can | |
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| I'm Practicing Love toward Myself | |
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| I'm Surrounding Myself with Positives | |
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| PPD Isn't My Fault | |
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| I'm Not Alone | |
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| Resources | |
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| Web Sites | |
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| Information | |
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| Support resources | |
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| Support Numbers | |
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| International Organizations | |
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| Postpartum Support International | |
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| Marce Society | |
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| North American Society for Psychosocial Obstetrics and Gynecology (NASPOG) | |
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| Further Reading | |
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| Index | |