With the myriad of nursery decor, strollers and baby gadgets, it is not surprising the amount of time and effort new parents spend on preparing for the arrival of their new family member. Unfortunately, the check list of preparation rarely makes it to setting up support for the new parents postpartum. With the current rate of PMAD, Perinatal Mood and Anxiety disorder, hovering around 20%, clearly this is an area that needs heavy consideration and attention. In this episode of Yoga | Birth | Babies, I speak with Evelyn Gama, LCSW who specializes in perinatal mental health.
Evelyn discusses with me the steps to take to set up a postpartum mental health check in. She offers very solid and manageable ideas to help the whole family best support the new birthing parent. Unfortunately, these very important steps of postpartum preparation are often neglected. Please enjoy this episode for either yourself or someone you support.
In this episode:
- Learn a bit about Evelyn and how she came to this line of work
- Why Evelyn recommends someone prepare a postpartum mental health plan
- Why it’s important all new parents are armed with this mental health check in
- What is involved in planning for postpartum mental health
- The importance of one’s personal mental health history and should a new mother also consider that of her parent’s.
- Suggestions for regulating medication during pregnancy or postpartum.
- Recommendation for having as a “hotline” for help or support network for the new parent
- Suggestions for taking care of personal needs during this draining time
- Communicating self-care needs to your partner or other supports proactively.
- Staying connected to your partner at this time
- Where to find Evelyn’s work
Resources mentioned in the podcast:
- http://www.evelyngamacounseling.com/
- www.postpartum.net
- The Motherhood Center:https://www.
themotherhoodcenter.com/ - The warmline is: http://www.warmline.org/
- PSI Helpline: 1-800-944-4773 OR TEXT: 503-894-9453
They also have local PSI coordinators with will identify resources for you in your area.
About Evelyn:
Evelyn sees individuals, couples, and moms and babies. She also runs two groups: Between Parents – the special needs support group and a limited series Birth Processing Group that runs in the fall and in the spring.
Evelyn Gama is a licensed mental health therapist with a private practice in New York City. Evelyn specializes in perinatal mental health, including therapy related to fertility, prenatal and postpartum concerns as well as dyadic attachment work with infant and parent. Evelyn facilitates a special needs parent support group and a birth processing group. She has developed and facilitated corporate workshops focused on Return to Work and New Father Preparedness. Evelyn relies on her background in family therapy in all of her perinatal work and considers the well-being of the family system as a whole.
Evelyn is the mom of two boys, one of whom has special needs. She has a special passion for helping families who experience a stay in the NICU or who are parenting a special needs child.
Connect with Evelyn:
http://www.evelyngamacounseling.com/
Instagram: @betweenparentsnyc
