Dealing With Postpartum Depression? (Baby Blues)

Postpartum depression, also known as postnatal depression or the baby blues affects some women after they have given birth. The symptoms can include:

- Feeling low and sad for no apparent reason
- Feeling tired most of the time
- Tearfulness
- Irritability
- Disturbed sleep
- Disinterested in caring for the baby
- Lack of appetite or eating too much
- Feeling worthless and inadequate
- Anxiety
- Lack of libido
- Withdrawal from social activities
- Excessive worrying

If severe, the effects can be devastating on mother and baby and indeed the rest of the family, and at a time that is supposed to be joyful.

Having a new baby to care for can be a daunting experience so it is perfectly natural to feel tired and a little anxious. You are suddenly responsible for a new life and along with this there are sleepless nights to deal with, and then your days are taken up caring for the new baby with feeds and nappy changes and routines to settle in to. There's no doubt about it, having a new baby involves a great deal of adjustment in the home and this is inevitably going to be stressful and tiring.

However, the difference between normal feelings of fatigue and worry, and postpartum depression, is that with postpartum depression the symptoms are more severe and they persist.

What causes Postpartum Depression?

There is no single clear cut reason why some women develop postpartum depression and not others but research has shown that nutritional deficiencies can be involved so it's important to make sure that your diet is good before, during and after pregnancy.

One nutrient in particular that has been found to play quite an important role during and after pregnancy is Omega 3. The Omega 3 fatty acids Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) are vital during pregnancy and indeed where EPA is concerned each and every one of us need adequate supplies for the whole of our lives whether we are pregnant or not. DHA is needed for healthy growth and development of the brain and eyesight and EPA is needed for efficient functioning of the brain on an ongoing basis.

It stands to reason that if the mother is not getting all the nutrients she needs whilst the baby is taking what little she has, then the mother will find her supplies of nutrients severely depleted.

It's an interesting point that people suffering from depression, and not just postpartum depression but indeed any mental health problem tend to have lower than normal levels of EPA in their blood.

Self help techniques for postpartum depression

- If your diet has been less than adequate it may be worth considering an Omega 3 fish oil supplement, speak to your doctor for more advice
- Get as much rest as you can, try to sleep when baby sleeps
- Try to avoid any extra stresses, this wouldn't be a good time to move house for example
- If you find yourself with a spare moment, indulge. Read a book, watch television, have a relaxing bath, don't spend these precious moments rushing around trying to do chores and be perfect, that little space can be a life saver
- Talk to your family and your care professionals about how you are feeling

Manic-Depression and How To Beat It

I started to have problems when in my teens, feeling upset about growing up without a father. I self-harmed, then attempted suicide when 16. After getting in trouble with the police at 16, I was isolated and felt my life to be futile. Although I was seeing a psychiatrist, he stopped the treatment, and feeling betrayed as well as cut off from my old friends and family, aged 18, I stood in front of a fast train.

However, when I saw the driver's screaming face as the train neared me, I changed my mind and moved to the side, as I did not want to cause him trauma. The train, however, struck me and hurled me through the air and I landed on the platform. My pelvis was badly fractured and I had received substantial injuries but after extensive emergency surgery, I survived.

A slow and painful recovery lay ahead, with hope but also setbacks, until I finally left hospital after extensive reconstructive surgery. When I left, I soon decided a change of place might do me good and went to Devon to live and work in a cultural centre. Whilst there, I had problems with the people there, who it turned out were something of a cult, and they called the police to have me removed. I was placed in a psychiatric hospital but my brothers rescued me and brought me back to London.

However, I was homeless and suffering the stress of isolation, despite my brother having allowed me to stay with him. One night, I was admitted to hospital and whilst there, a doctor told me I was manic-depressive. I thought this to be false and hated the idea. When I was prescribed Lithium, mood stabilisers and anti-depressants, I refused them and was sectioned under The Mental Health Act.

Finally, I was discharged from the unit and vowed to stop taking the medication, which was destroying my future as a writer by preventing me from reading and writing, due to making my eyes water continuously. This I did, with the support of all my friends and family. Even though it was a rollercoaster--I went up and down whilst trying to come off the stuff--I did it and eventually even told my psychiatrist. As I told him I would fight him every inch of the way if he sectioned me or tried to force me to take the drugs, he let things stand.

I moved from a halfway house to a privately rented room in a house and started going to a weekly meditation group that helped a lot. I read self-help books and developed self-esteem, published poems and began to write my memoir. I trained as a therapist finally, in order to give back and help others; I am now a master of hypnotherapy, Time Line Therapy簧 and NLP.

In the year 2000, I was advised by several people to try Eat Right For Your Blood Type to help alleviate a stomach problem I had been having. I found out I was blood type O and a non-secretor, and that Type O non-secretors have a high risk factor for developing manic depression. Although, highly sceptical at first, my symptoms were so severe, I was willing to give anything a try.

I began a diet and lifestyle plan for my specific blood type and am on it to this day. I was brought up as a vegetarian but the advice for type O is to eat a high protein diet and I do, with spectacularly good results. Having spent the last seven years researching more about the link between our genetics, our blood type and health conditions, I am 100% convinced of it's scientific validity and importance.

I eat a diet that minimises my risk of having dopamine dips or spikes and thus my moods are very stable and even my friends who have been sceptical have now started following the plan, with the same excellent results. I have also noted the correlation between the health conditions many thousands of people I meet have and their blood types and find that the accuracy of the complete blood type literature by Doctor Peter J. D'Adamo (Eat Right For Your Type, Live Right For Your Type, Cook Right For Your Type and The Complete Blood Type Encyclopaedia) is proven to my satisfaction every single time.

My conclusion is that manic-depression was falsely applied to me and that labelling someone is never a useful exercise; neither is medicating without fully exploring other options. Had I been offered the blood type literature from the start of my problems, I am certain all of them would have been helped dramatically, if not averted entirely. Diet plays a key role in mental illness yet how often do psychiatrists or medical doctors even ask or advise about someone's diet?

The idea of people being different and thus needing different diets may be easy to dismiss by those who have not the scientific-minded curiosity to read the literature by Dr D'Adamo, and nevertheless, we are different and some swear by vegetarianism whereas others swear by meat being healthy, yet both are right, depending on your blood type.

I hope this article sparks debate and interest on the difficulties those diagnosed with manic depression face and provide hope to those open enough to try the diet.

Basic Information on Indian Labour Law

Labour rights are integral part of socio-economic development of every country across the world. To protect these rights, every nation has passed certain laws addressing the restrictions and legal benefits of the labours and their organisations. These laws are commonly referred as Labour Laws.

In simple words, labour law is a legal structure or an administrative ruling that deals with the rights and restrictions imposed on the labours and their organisations by the government. Generally, it covers the demands of the employees to have better working conditions, the right to form trade union or to work independently without joining the union and other safety rights. Similarly, it also covers demands of the employers to keep control over - the use of power by the worker's organisations, the costs of labour, costly health and safety requirements of the workers, etc.

Indian Labour Law:

Like other nations, the labour law in India also covers the same fundamental labour rights that are required to maintain harmonious relationship between the employees, employers and the trade unions. However, there are certain amendments made in the laws depending on the culture, society and constitution of India.

All the commercial establishments in the country are required to implement the Central and State Government labour law enactments to be recognised as legally authorised organisations. Some of the essential Central Government enactments are as follow:

• The Employees' Provident Fund Act, 1952

• The Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948

• The Minimum Wages Act, 1948

• The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970

• The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965

• The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961

• The Payment of Wages Act, 1936

• The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976

The companies have to adhere to the above enactments and other allied laws for the smooth functioning of their business. Any company that doesn't follow the rules listed in these enactments is subject to punishment by the government of India. It is to be noted that the organisations with large operations across the nation find it difficult to keep account of every enactment. So, they may forget to follow one or sometimes many rules of the given enactments.

Therefore, the organisations are recommended to hire a labour law consultant or outsource their legal work related to the rights of workers to a consultancy. These consultancies offer comprehensive services, which normally include -

• Activities related to registration and licensing necessary under the labour laws,

• Calculating periodical liability,

• Maintaining records and statutory registers,

• Documenting and submitting periodical statutory reports,

• Attending periodical statutory inspections and

• Other allied services.

In short, Indian Labour Law has all the necessary provisions to maintain healthy relationship between the working people and their organisations provided both the parties strictly adhere to these legal provisions.

Become Pregnant Naturally - Holistic Help For Conception

How to become pregnant naturally is a huge concern for many women today. The term 'infertility' is rampant, it's almost an epidemic. Many women are facing fertility problems in all corners of the world. As a response to this need, more and more doctors are prescribing fertility drugs such as Clomiphene Citrate to help women ovulate. The problem is, the side effects of many fertility drugs have proven to be detrimental to conception. For example, what clomiphene citrate does is cause cervical fluid to become scarce, and the reproductive hormones to become unbalanced.

The widespread use of chemical birth control has also taken a toll on women's reproductive hormones. More and more infertility and miscarriage cases have been reported over the last decade. Pregnancy has taken on a more 'medical' role than a natural and holistic one. If you want to become pregnant naturally, I have great news for you. This approach to preserving and encouraging fertility has been proven to be more effective and beneficial to man.

Here are the advantages of conceiving through natural means:

1. It's true that our bodies are build to give birth and conceive. If we take better care of ourselves, and make a conscious decision not to consume chemicals and preservatives, we wouldn't have issues with infertility.

2. Two of the best keys to understanding our bodies are through awareness and education. Always do your research; and never rely on one person's opinion or word about anything without proper research. This way, you are taking the control back over your body, as well as your fertility.

After seeing the horrible results of fertility drugs, I did some extensive research on natural and holistic remedies.

3. One good natural approach to fertility is the art of fertility charting. This is relatively simple - all you need is a basal body thermometer and a paper chart. You can easily determine ovulation and discover if you have possible fertility issues. It's just as essential to chart the cervical position and the cervical fluid with your basal body temperature. While it's true that being able to master the art of fertility charting takes time, the procedures will help you properly identify and possibly correct any minor fertility issues. This all boils down to a matter of getting to know your body better.

Once mastered, the art of fertility charting can help you become pregnant naturally. Eventually you can learn to properly identify and treat minor infertility with the use of natural remedies and methods.

Choosing Between Ethical Or Fair Trade Clothing

In order to make an informed choice between ethical and fair trade clothing, you must have a clear understanding of what the difference is between the two. The clothing industry is one that can be very volatile when it comes to fads, trends and clothing styles that can come and go with the blink of an eye. There are many extremes that come into the clothing industry and nearly just as quickly, their appeal is gone.

Some clothing styles go on to become legendary or what are known as classics that never lose their appeal even as the generations come and go. Over recent years, there has been a change in the clothing industry. So what exactly is ethical clothing and how does it differ from fair clothing? Let's examine both types.

Ethical clothing addresses a broad range of concerns that have been around about as long as the clothing industry itself. Some of the major concerns with clothing that is not ethical is that the clothing is produced by workers in factories or sweat shops where wages are an amount so low that workers cannot make a reasonable living to support themselves. The unfortunate reality is that there are many designs on the racks in your local stores that have been made by these workers. Ethical clothing demands that workers be paid what their labor is worth. Ethical clothing also mandates that the workers be give benefits such as maternity leave and insurance options.

The momentum for ethical clothing has not picked up because many clothing manufacturers experience significant cost savings by outsourcing work to these countries where the condition of life is so poor that people are willing to work for minimum amounts of money in substandard work conditions to survive. Clothing in the United States aimed at creating a better environment and better working conditions for people. The Fair Trade Federation provides a means for clothing lines to join but the membership criteria is strict. Fortunately, fair trade is also branching out into jewelry, personal care, candles, bedding, toys, games and paper goods. The difference between ethical and fair trade clothing is that clothing made by the latter takes the earth into consideration and provides clothing that is made from natural products.

When it comes to fair trade clothing, however, none of the major retailer chains carry fair trade clothing. This should not be a deterrent if you wish to purchase it, just look online and you will find many sources from which you can order such clothing.

Choosing between ethical clothing and fair trade clothing does not have to be a real dilemma. Ethical clothing is manufactured with respect to ensuring that laborers are not overworked and underpaid. Fair trade clothing uses organic materials that are green friendly and don't harm the earth's ozone when discarded or made from recycled materials.

Although the types are similar, there are some differences described here that should help you make a choice about whether you want to wear ethical clothing or fair trade clothing.

Medical Insurance Rate

Have you seen a recent increase in your medical insurance rate? Medical insurance rate increases are under close scrutiny as health reform blossoms. The medical insurance rates are being examined closely by the department of health and human services. The DHHS has revealed the fact that health insurance companies have sought drastic premium rate increases in the past year. Legislation has been introduced in 2010 that would prevent health insurance providers from assessing unfair premium rate increases.

Under the Legislation, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services would be able to review, deny or approve rate increases that are deemed unreasonable. The Health Insurance Rate Authority Act was introduced in part to protect the consumer from premium increases that are not justified by the insurer. Unfortunately, this does not mean that there will not be premium increases. Alternatively, the act would insure that those increases that are assessed would need justification.

Health care reform has been a hot topic since the days prior to the presidential election. One of President Obama's top priorities has been health care reform and much has blossomed as a result. The Health Insurance Rate Authority Act is likely one of many acts to come in order to protect the consumer and regulate insurance premium hikes. Authorities state that there is likely a need for some premium increases due to health care reform mandates. Reform mandates such as policies covering maternity care, substance abuse, mental health and mandates against exclusions due to pre-existing conditions will cause insurers to take risk that they have not traditionally had to take. The additional risk will result in insurers contributing more dollars to the health pool than they have in the past. Ultimately, the affect on the bottom line for insurers result in premium increases for the consumer.

It is important to remember that there are several factors that contribute to an individual's premium and that certain features may be tweaked in order to realize a lower premium. Though we have seen an overall hike in premiums, an individual still has some control over the monthly premium that he or she pays. For instance, deductibles, co-pays, Coinsurance percentages, amount of coinsurance out of pocket and lifetime maximum coverage by the insurer all combine to determine the amount of monthly medical insurance rates. The insurance seeker could adjust any one of these factors and see a change in their monthly premium. However, in the near future the consumer may still see increased overall premiums for certain policies. Illinois, California and Colorado have already seen drastic premium increases by certain insurers. The Health Insurance Rate Authority Act would give the secretary of health and Human Services the power to deny or adjust rate increases that are found to be unjustifiable.

Affordable health insurance has been made a priority by the current administration. Although the health reform legislation is now a reality, many of the elements of the legislation will not be realized for years to come. The Health Insurance Rate Authority Act is just one step towards protecting the consumer and maintaining the "affordable" health insurance initiative. For more information regarding affordable health insurance and medical insurance rates, see the Texas Low Cost Health Insurance website.

Health Insurance - Tips to Help You Choose the Right Policy

Choosing the best health insurance plan involves the following:

1. Finding the health insurance plan with the lowest cost (but only with respect to the other two criteria)


2. Finding the health insurance plan with a network that meets your needs


3. Finding the health insurance plan with coverage that meets your needs

Choosing the right health insurance policy involves finding the lowest price amongst the policies that meet your needs as to network and coverage. Choosing the lowest price is of course very easy. Determining whether the health insurance plan's network of doctors meets your needs is only a little more difficult. Choosing a health insurance policy that covers you well can be complex. Most of this article focuses on this area. I've been a health insurance agent since 1985 and have helped many families find affordable health insurance. You can find out more about me by visiting 1800insuranceCT.com. These are the strategies that I use when helping a family find good medical coverage in my home state of Connecticut. To help find out what health insurance plans are available and approved in your area, I've put together a list of Insurance Departments for each state.

Choosing the Health Insurance Plan with the Right Network

Most companies have websites that will list the doctors and hospitals that participate in their plan. All that I'm aware of will have a printed list that they can mail to you. The right plan will have your doctor on their list or at least doctors who serve your home area. If you travel it is important to find a plan that covers you well in other geographic areas as well.

Choosing the Health Insurance Plan with the best coverage

Health insurance contracts may be the most complex of the insurance policies purchased by the average family. Understanding how your health insurance policy will pay for your medical bills can be difficult. Fortunately most of the brochures and outlines of coverage that you may receive from a health insurance provider will have a similar structure.

They will have sections similar to the following: What is Covered? Health Plan Exclusions and Limitations What is Covered?

This section will detail what medical procedures your health insurance policy will cover. The policy should have a phrase like "reasonable and customary" or "usual, reasonable and customary" or something similar when describing how much they will cover.

Watch out for health insurance policies with:

Dollar amount limits for each procedure

A long list of procedures that the health insurance policy will cover Better health insurance policies will not list dollar amounts for each procedure. They will pay using a formula that is based on what other doctors or medical providers will charge you in the same geographic area. A phrase like "usual and customary" indicates that they use such a formula. The cost of medical care rises so quickly that a dollar amount that seems impressive today may not fully reimburse you even a year from now.

Solid health Insurance policies will not have a long list of procedures that they will cover listed on the policy. The long list seems impressive because the list takes up a lot of space. Look at the statements below. It should be easy to choose between one and two.

1. "Our health insurance policy will cover you for everything except for expenses caused by self-inflicted injuries and substance abuse." ("I've been to every state in the union except Alaska.")


2. "Our health insurance policy will cover your nose, your ears, your toes, your hands, your right lung, your calf and your knee" ("I've been to New York, Connecticut, Nebraska, Washington DC and Vermont")

Health Plan Exclusions and Limitations This section will tell you what is excluded. Typically elective surgery will not be covered. Also experimental procedures and expenses caused by self-inflicted injuries will not be covered. You should understand each of these exclusions and limitations before you commit to a policy. Most policies will not include maternity insurance, so if you want to get pregnant, make sure that you know how your policy will cover maternity expenses. Unfortunately, maternity insurance is not available in many states except as part of a group insurance plan. To summarize:

* Determine what health insurance plans will cover you in your area

* Determine which health insurance plans offer adequate coverage

*Choose the plans that offers the best value based on price and coverage

This article was originally published on http://www.1800insurancect.com/articles/tips_for_finding_coverage.htm