Researchers are discovering that breastfeeding is more protective of maternal health than previously imagined and that it dramatically lowers women's risk of cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes during middle and old age--common causes of premature mortality. Previously, the health benefits of breastfeeding were mainly focused on the infant. New data suggests that breastfeeding may have life-long effects for both mother and baby. Psychoneuroimmunology is an emerging, interdisciplinary science that considers the ways in which the human mind and the immune system interact...

Pregnant and postpartum women are at increased risk for depression, and the health effects of depression for both mother and baby are too serious to ignore. As important as it is, however, to promptly treat depression, some are voicing concern over whether the risks of antidepressant medications outweigh the benefits. Fortunately, there are more treatment choices than ever before. In this monograph Kathleen Kendall-Tackett describes the various non-drug treatment modalities being used to treat even major depression. In most cases the non-drug treatments are as effective as medications with...