This outstanding collection of work is an important timely and much needed resource. Dr.
Diana Lynn Barnes has been instrumental in bringing attention to the needs of perinatal women
for decades. In Women's Reproductive Health Across the Lifespan she brilliantly unites the
medical world of reproductive life events with the psychiatric and psychological world of
mental health issues associated with them. Her expertise combined with contributions by
distinguished leaders in the field create a volume of work that should be studied carefully by
every medical and mental health provider who works with women. -- Karen Kleiman MSW The
Postpartum Stress Center Author of Therapy and the Postpartum Woman Finally a book that
addresses the entire scope of women's reproductive mental health spanning the gamut from
puberty to menopause. The list of chapter contributors reads like a who's who of international
experts. Unique to this book is its focus on the interaction of genetics hormonal fluctuations
and the social environment. It is a must addition for the libraries of clinicians and
researchers in women's reproductive mental health. -- Cheryl Tatano Beck DNSc CNM FAAN
Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor School of Nursing University of Connecticut
Pregnancy and childbirth are generally viewed as joyous occasions. Yet for numerous women
these events instead bring anxiety depression and emotional distress. Increased interest in
risk reduction and early clinical intervention is bringing reproductive issues to the forefront
of women's mental health. The scope of Women's Reproductive Mental Health across the Lifespan
begins long before the childbearing years and continues well after those years have ended.
Empirical findings case examples and dispatches from emerging areas of the field illuminate
representative issues across the continuum of women's lives with the goal of more effective
care benefitting women and their families. Chapter authors discuss advances in areas such as
fertility treatment and contraception and present current thinking on the psychological impact
of pregnancy loss menopause cancer and other stressors. These expert contributors emphasize
the connections between an individual's biology and psychology and cultural expectations in
shaping women's mental health and the balance between a client's unique history and current
clinical knowledge clinicians need to address disorders. Included in the coverage: - The
experience of puberty and emotional wellbeing. - Body image issues and eating disorders in the
childbearing years. - Risk assessment and screening during pregnancy. - Normal and pathological
postpartum anxiety. - Mood disorders and the transition to menopause. - The evolution of
reproductive psychiatry. A reference with an extended shelf life Women's Reproductive Mental
Health across the Lifespan enhances the work of researchers and practitioners in social work
clinical psychology and psychiatry and has potential relevance to all health care
professionals.
