Understanding Your Moods When You're Expecting: Emotions, Mental Health, and Happiness -- Before, During, and AfterPregnancy [Paperback]

Lucy J. Puryear (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 9, 2008

From a nationally recognized medical expert, a book as essential to a woman’s emotional health during pregnancy as What to Expect When You’re Expecting is to her physical health

Having a baby presents unique challenges for mothers both physically and psychologically, yet the mental health aspect of maternity is rarely given its due. As an advocate for women's reproductive health, Dr. Lucy J. Puryear is changing that. In this informative, reassuring book, Dr. Puryear examines the emotional health issues associated with pregnancy and postpartum, providing an indispensable resource for expectant parents and for those who wish to become pregnant.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Puryear, a psychiatrist specializing in women's reproductive mental health and director of the Baylor Psychiatry Clinic at Baylor College of Medicine, notes that pregnancy and motherhood are hard work both physically and psychologically. Yet, the author points out, most obstetricians and gynecologists have no training in psychological disorders, and women are often left to attend to their emotional issues without support. Puryear offers an informative resource that takes women from before conception to postpartum, drawing on her own practice and personal wisdom as the mother of four as well as current research. With pregnancy comes a surge in hormones that can make women feel both physically ill and cognitively foggy, and when the first movements of the fetus are sensed, the impending reality can be overwhelming. The third trimester and postpartum period can also bring problems: worries about being a good mother, ambivalence about the baby, concerns about sex or anxiety about returning to work. Puryear reveals that medication and psychotherapy are both options for mothers in distress, pointing out that there are many medical choices moms can make that won't harm the baby. All women, she argues, need more information and support concerning emotional issues during pregnancy: this is a worthy place to start. (June)
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About the Author

LUCY J. PURYEAR, M.D., is a practicing psychiatrist specializing in women's reproductive mental health. She has been director of the Baylor Psychiatry Clinic at the Baylor College of Medicine, and was expert witness for the defense in the trial of Andrea Yates. She lives in Houston, Texas.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books; Reprint edition (June 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0547053622
• ISBN-13: 978-0547053622
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #272,681 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born in Houston, Texas, but grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. I graduated from Towson Hight School and then went to college in Allentown, Pa. I graduated from Muhlenberg College with a degree in theatre and psychology. After spending a year in N.Y.C. sleeping on a friend's sofa and auditioning for plays I decided enough was enough. I moved to Texas to be nearer my family where I studied nursing. I worked in the neonatal intensive care for four years before I went to medical school at Baylor College of Medicine. Because my father is a psychiatrist I thought I'd do anything but that. In fact I had planned on being an Ob-Gyn. But at the last minute I found that I enjoyed treating psychiatric illness and couldn't wait to get to the hospital in mornings. I could imagine myself doing that for a very long time and not getting bored.
I have had an extremely rewarding career and feel blessed to do what I do. Taking care of pregnant women with psychiatric illness and women with postpartum depression is a perfect blend of obsetrics and psychiatry. I have four children that keep me busy in my "free" time, and a wonderful husband who is always by my side. Writing this book is an effort to share more of my knowledge with many more women than I can see in my office. I hope that it is helpful to many women and their families.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Advice You'll Get in a Pregnancy Book, September 6, 2007

By 

ES "Emma" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Understanding Your Moods When You're Expecting: Emotions, Mental Health, and Happiness -- Before, During, and After Pregnancy (Hardcover)

Well-written, easy to read and very human. This is a vital read for anyone who suffered from depression before pregnancy (even if you were "cured"); as well as women who are looking for a post-partum resource that deals with how she actually *feels*, as opposed to an extended tome on diaper changing, breast pads and burping, which are ten-a-penny.

Also, a great read for dads-to-be and new dads, who are wondering who took their wife and replaced her with this sad lady?

Instead of buying another book on the merits of "wearing" your baby or the horrors of disposable diapers, which you flip through in your "mommy" pajamas (with flaps) whilst hiding in the closet, crying, at 3am, (been there); get this book and start getting well.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The "Good Enough" Mother: An Honest Look at Pregnancy and Motherhood, June 14, 2007

By 

Laurel Spence (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Understanding Your Moods When You're Expecting: Emotions, Mental Health, and Happiness -- Before, During, and After Pregnancy (Hardcover)

This book is eloquently written and so honest - thank you, Dr. Puryear! Also, thank you for encouraging us moms to realize that being a "good enough" mother is an achievable, reasonable, rational, and realistic goal. This notion offers women the freedom to be themselves and the fulfillment that comes from loving others from a place of authenticity.

Dr. Puryear is well-known in Houston as a psychiatrist in private practice and a faculty member at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Puryear served as an expert witness in both of Andrea Yates' trials here in Houston and is a powerful advocate for women and the need to recognize and appropriately treat and manage women's mental health issues.

This book is for every woman who will, who is and who has experienced pregnancy and/or motherhood. It's focus is on the "normal" fluctuations in emotion and mood that many women experience during and after pregnancy and differentiating such changes from mood disorders (depression, anxiety, psychosis) that need professional treatment.

Dr. Puryear weaves in some her personal experiences of motherhood and acknowledges the fact that for too long we women and society at large have put unnecessary and undue pressure upon women to be "perfect" in so many ways - including motherhood. The author encourages us women to shift our focus to a new goal - to striving to do the best we can with what we know and what we have daily to best serve ourselves, our families, and society at large. She gives us permission to be "good enough" mothers and to be honest, vulnerable, strong and forgiving of ourselves.

Thank you, Dr. Puryear, for sharing yourself, your stories, your expertise, and stories of others that are easy to understand and relate to as women and mothers.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars helpful, February 14, 2010

By 

Shirley (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Understanding Your Moods When You're Expecting: Emotions, Mental Health, and Happiness -- Before, During, and AfterPregnancy (Paperback)

As a mental health practitioner, I find this book valuable to recommend to my clients.