I m a Mom and a Perinatal Health Coach: Here Are 5 Things No One Tells You About Being Pregnant I m a Mom and a Perinatal Health Coach: Here Are 5 Things No One Tells You About Being Pregnant
Pregnancy marks the beginning of a huge life shift, but we don t always approach it that way. These are the best ways to prepare yourself for motherhood.
Image zoom Credit: Illustration: Caitlin-Marie Miner Ong
This past April, only a few weeks postpartum, my son s pediatrician handed me a print out of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). The screening tool, developed in Scotland in 1987, is 10 questions long and used around the world to detect a variety of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) such as postpartum depression or postpartum anxiety.
The form s prompts range from I have been able to laugh and see the funny side of things to The thought of harming myself has occurred to me. Each answer is assigned a numerical value. The higher the score, the more likely the respondent is suffering from a PMAD.
Image zoom Credit: Getty Images
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, medical care pivoted. One big change: Many major medical organizations including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) encouraged the use of telehealth, a practice that hasn’t exactly been commonplace for the care of soon-to-be and new moms.
Today? Hospital systems, doulas, lactation consultants, physical therapists, and pretty much
every other perinatal health professional you can think of has brought their services online.
And while some women in some parts of the country are returning to in-person care, virtual appointments have become somewhat of a mainstay.