During May,
we recognize Maternal Mental Health Month and Maternal Mental Health Week. Symptoms of Perinatal Mood Disorders include anxiety, post-partum depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder which can affect any woman who is pregnant, recently had a baby, ended a pregnancy or miscarried, or stopped breastfeeding.
All this change can be a lot to navigate
and can impact your well-being, so it’s essential to care for yourself, according to expert Josephine Atluri, author of the forthcoming book 5-Minute Mindfulness for Pregnancy: Simple Practices to Feel Calm, Present, and Connected to Your Baby (Rockridge Press, Spring 2022).
“Mindfulness is an effective activity for navigating pregnancy transformation,” says Atluri. “But if you experience debilitating feelings, you must seek medical guidance.
There is no shame about seeking extra support when needed! As a mother of seven children (I have been pregnant several times, adopted, and also partnered with two surrogates to carry four of our children), I know how challenging it is. Looking back, I wish I’d had the tools to care for myself.
Many years later, after discovering meditation and mindfulness for myself and then becoming certified to teach others these skills, I was able to apply mindfulness and noticed marked differences in my experiences.”
Atluri —featured on L.A. Times, MindBodyGreen, Prevention, Well+Good—is available for interviews, expert commentary, and contributed articles around Maternal Mental Health, including:
- Tools to help women suffering from perinatal depressions, which affects 10-20 percent of women in the United States during pregnancy, postpartum or both
- Reframing how you look at assistance: 4 tips when asking for help
- The 4th trimester and 5 things you need in your post-partum proposal
- 3 ways to find more time for yourself
- 5-minute mindfulness practices for hectic days
- Navigating stress and overwhelm to return to a baseline of calm and presence
- How to manage emotions during a post-miscarriage pregnancy
- Cultivating a community of support
- Making peace with difficult emotions
- Honoring yourself through transitions
- 5 ways to turn anything into a mindfulness exercise
- 4 ways to settle your mind
Josephine Atluri is an expert in meditation and mindfulness, helping thousands of people overcome adversity to find joy. A graduate of the University of Chicago, Atluri coupled her consulting background with her passion for total wellness to become certified as a meditation coach and teach corporate mindfulness.
Plus, her experience creating her modern-day family of seven children via in vitro fertilization (IVF), international adoption and surrogacy inspires her work as a highly sought-after fertility and parenting mindfulness coach. Atluri hosts a popular podcast, “Responding to Life: Talking Health, Fertility, & Parenthood,” where she interviews guests on their inspiring responses to life’s challenges.
She is the author of Mindfulness Journal for Parents, and the forthcoming 5-Minute Mindfulness for Pregnancy: Simple Practices to Feel Calm, Present, and Connected to Your Baby (Spring 2022).