How do you counsel breastfeeding parents with postpartum depression when sleep deprivation appears to be worsening mood symptoms?

My position is that breastfeeding is a sometimes difficult practical issue, not a medical or moral imperative. I try to normalize the difficulties of breastfeeding, based on my own experience and that of my daughters and sisters, countering the exploitation of anxiety around this issue with problem-solving, reassurance, and education. I normalize the difficulties that may be involved with breastfeeding, based on my own experience and that of my daughters and sisters.

When I have the opportunity ...

I like to invite partners or support people to an appointment to have a meeting about sleep as a team. I encourage thinking about sleep as medicine and a very powerful tool to treat and reduce the risk of postpartum depression, anxiety, bipolar mood episodes, etc. My goal for patients is that they can have a protected block of 5 hours of continuous sleep and then additional interrupted sleep or naps. If sleep is highly interrupted, they will likely need a higher total number of hours of sleep. I...

I really appreciate the care and nuance in Dr. @Dr. First Last approach to supporting new mothers around breastfeeding. It’s an area where anxiety is easily amplified, and her emphasis on practical strategies, sleep, shared responsibilities, and reliable resources is enormously grounding for patients.

One perspective I would add, and this is less about the content and more about the frame, is the question of how much of ourselves we bring into the room. Self-disclosure can certainly feel support...