Dropping the Baby and Other Scary Thoughts: Breaking the Cycle of Unwanted Thoughts in Parenthood

by Karen Kleiman, Amy Wenzel

This accessible guide addresses the nature of the intrusive and unwanted thoughts that can be common in new parenthood, and offers practical answers and advice on how to tackle these.

With fresh material focusing on how to overcome barriers to disclosure and stigma, and updated treatment approaches and case descriptions, this revised edition explains exactly what these negative thoughts are, why they come about, and what can be done about them. Chapters offer information on the specific nature of perinatal anxiety and related disorders, along with take-home points and evidence-based strategies for symptom relief that clinicians can use effectively with new parents.

Written by two leading clinicians in the perinatal community, in collaboration with two promising leaders in this specialized field, Dropping the Baby and Other Scary Thoughts, 2nd edition offers a compassionate approach to breaking the cycle of scary thoughts that is invaluable to new parents and clinicians alike.

Genres: Parenting

278 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 9, 2020

About the author

Karen Kleiman is well known as an international expert on postpartum depression. Her work has been featured on the Internet and within the mental health community for decades. In 1988, Karen founded The Postpartum Stress Center, LLC, a treatment and training facility for prenatal and postpartum depression/anxiety disorders where she treats individuals and couples experiencing perinatal mood & anxiety disorders.

Karen has been interviewed for, featured in, and reviewed by local and national TV, magazines, radio shows and health websites. Her national television appearances include Inside Edition, The Oprah Winfrey Show, NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw and The Katie Couric Show. A few popular magazines that have featured her work or interviewed her include: Self Magazine, Fit Pregnancy, Parenting, Working Mother, Star, and Mothering Magazine. Karen is featured as an expert on PsychologyToday.com as a “Best Voice in Psychology” as author of her blog, “This Isn’t What I Expected: Notes on Healing Postpartum Depression”.

Reviews

[Elisabeth Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

A psychologist at the local women’s clinic recommended this book to me. The book is unique in that it is written both for clinicians and for women struggling with “scary thoughts.” It is extremely informative and useful in that it repeatedly emphasizes the common occurrence of scary thoughts for pregnant and postpartum women, normalizing something that it utterly paralyzing for the one experiencing it. It is thorough and educational in regards to the manifestation of symptoms and treatments of postpartum anxiety. There are several chapters on self-help treatments, which provides both hope and relief for the woman experiencing these symptoms. Highly recommend for anyone struggling with postpartum anxiety and scary thoughts.

[Kaitlyn Rychlowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable read as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner with passion for perinatal mental health. I enjoyed the practical techniques offered to help combat intrusive thoughts. I was surprised to learn that 91% of moms experience scary thoughts. I will recommend this book to patients who enjoy reading and desire to learn more, but as many new moms do not have time or focus to sit down and read, I will certainly summarize and provide tools to work through scary thoughts together.

[Elise Funk · Rating 5 out of 5]

A much needed book on a rarely discussed maternal/postpartum mental health struggle! While there are a lot of resources out there for postpartum depression, but this is one of the only books I know of on the specific topic of intrusive/scary thoughts for new parents. Highly recommend to any new mom struggling with intrusive thoughts or anyone close to a new mama who wants to walk alongside them ❤️

[annie 🍂 · Rating 3 out of 5]

i read this for a CE credit to renew my LMSW license; it had a lot of fascinating data on perinatal and postpartum experience that i found insightful. its section towards the end on “multiculturalism” was alarmingly western and white defaultist and any further editions would benefit from a more intersectional lens.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for Social Work CEUs. Well researched book about post partum anxiety.