QUESTION

Dear Midwife,
I have suffered from depression almost my whole life. I just discovered about one month ago that I am pregnant, and am six months along now. To be honest, I am in a tough living situation, and am currently not in the most desirable environment for a pregnant woman. These issues are going to change soon, however.

A paradox of stay-at-home motherhood is that while you're busy practically every minute of the day -- caring for kids, entertaining kids, picking up after kids -- the day can drag, leaving you feeling lonely, isolated, angry and depressed.

QUESTION

Dear Midwife,
My sister is 32 years old and 35-weeks pregnant. The last 2 months, she and my mother have been arguing really bad. They have never fought other than through the teenage years and have loved each other always. Being the oldest brother and son, and almost being put in the middle of this, I do have one question.

by Shawn Talbott, Ph.D

Got kids (or are you about to have kids)? Then you've got stress! If you have stress, then you also have cortisol, and you need to know what to do about it - because excess exposure to cortisol (the body's primary stress hormone) is associated with

• Weight gain
• Increased hunger (sugar cravings)
• Diabetes
• Elevated blood pressure
• Immune suppression
• Depression
• Memory problems

What is cortisol?

If you live in a sunny place like Florida then you probably won't know what I'm talking about. The wintertime blues, also known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), usually begin when the days start getting shorter and the sky clouds over into perpetual gray.

QUESTION

Dear Experts,
I have suffered 4 losses in the past year and a half. I am now just over 5 weeks pregnant and I am a basket case. Every time I am waiting for my beta results, I cry like a baby until I get them. My last results only doubled in 73 hours, so now I am in a complete state of panic! How do I deal with it?

Thank you.

Two weeks after our long-awaited positive, we found it was an ectopic pregnancy. We were devastated. Now I want answers to why. Can I still get pregnant without treatment? Will it turn out to be normal? I feel hopeless and all alone. My family is more tuned in to my sister being pregnant and forgetting about my loss. I hope you can help! Read Debbie and Mara's reply.

QUESTION

Dear Midwife,
On Thanksgiving Day, my husband of 6 ½ years told me that he didn't want to be with me anymore. I soon found out that he was cheating. Right now, I am about 6 months pregnant and I have been very depressed. We have a 5-year-old son and he has been acting up because of everything going on. My husband wanted me to leave the house, so I did. My son and I live with my parents and I am finding it very hard to cope with this.