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

This is a masterful blending of current research and extensive clinical experience regarding scary thoughts, a woefully neglected problem that can haunt new mothers. A soon-to-be classic in the libraries of both mothers and their health care providers, it contains invaluable information on an 8-step process to break the cycle of scary thoughts. - Cheryl Tatano Beck, University of Connecticut, USA

This book removes the shame and stigma surrounding a scary topic that is rarely addressed because it is so highly misunderstood. Backed by their extensive clinical backgrounds and supported by current research, Kleiman and Wenzel offer specific strategies and reassurance for new mothers who have scary thoughts, while furthering the understanding of those professionals who treat them. - Diana Lynn Barnes, PsyD, Past President of Postpartum Support International, USA; co-author, The Journey to Parenthood: Myths, Reality and What Really Matters

This book is a gift to all new mothers and their loved ones. The Personal Treatment Plan is an extraordinarily helpful and practical guide for both new mothers and clinicians, and serves as a unique resource for women as they attempt to cope with the scary thoughts that accompany new motherhood. - Deborah Kim, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA

The title alone of Dropping the Baby and Other Scary Thoughts confidently announces that this experience, which has historically been described in hushed tones, is now `out of the closet'. With an affirming nod to postpartum women, their families, and their caregivers, Karen Kleiman and Amy Wenzel have pooled their collective expertise and deftly created a comprehensive and highly readable resource that simultaneously informs and reassures. - Margaret Howard, Brown Alpert Medical School; Director, Postpartum Depression Day Hospital, Women & Infants Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

Thank you to Drs. Kleiman and Wenzel for writing this book! Scary thoughts are nearly universal in new moms but, sadly, are underidentified, undertreated, and widely misunderstood. This excellent book arms mothers and their families with the knowledge they need to understand these thoughts and manage their anxiety. -Pamela S. Wiegartz, Brigham and Women's Hospital; Author, The Pregnancy and Postpartum Anxiety Workbook

Dropping the Baby is a very accessible self-help book for new mothers who may be experiencing anxiety. The authors help to normalise the presence of anxiety during the post-anatal period by listing common examples of worries and also by emphasising the prevalence of worrying thoughts amongst new mothers. ... Whilst largely focusing on anxiety in the post-partum period, the book also briefly discusses difficulties relating to post-natal depression, birth trauma and obsessive compulsive disorder. - Sian Fitzpatrick, Journal of Mental Health (Vol. 22, No. 3)