Today’s episode is packed with helpful information about taking medication during pregnancy and the postpartum period. We’ll also take a closer look at COVID-related issues and the vaccine as they relate to perinatal mental health. Join us to learn more.
Dr. Sarah Oreck is a Columbia University-trained psychiatrist who focuses on women’s mental wellness. In addition to her expertise in general and addiction psychiatry, Dr. Oreck is one of very few doctors with specialized training in reproductive psychiatry. She runs a private practice in which she combines the most up-to-date medical treatments with talk therapy, meditation, and a whole-body complementary approach. Dr. Oreck is passionate about teaching, and she regularly lectures at Cedars Sinai Hospital, UCLA, and The Providence Hospital System, in addition to her media work. She is actively involved in advocacy work and is a member of the Board of Directors of Maternal Mental Health Now.
Show Highlights:
- An overview of the field of reproductive psychiatry–and how it helps people
- The “risk vs. risk” perspective regarding medication and perinatal mental health
- How Sarah talks to people about the risk of anxiety and depression
- Why mental health medications can be safer than untreated mental illness
- The dangers when physicians don’t keep up with new mental health research and literature
- How Sarah works to train and inform physicians about pregnancy and postpartum
- How Sarah’s individual clients benefit from her bilingual abilities due to her Colombian heritage
- The myths of motherhood in the Latin community that only magnify the need for a mental health focus
- Sarah’s observations about the impact of COVID on perinatal mood and anxiety disorders
- What it was like for Sarah to have her first baby during the COVID pandemic
- What we should know about the COVID vaccine regarding pregnancy and breastfeeding mothers
- How the stigmas around anxiety medication discourage people from taking medications that are necessary and life-saving
- What Sarah has seen in people getting the help, support, and connection that they need
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