Want to share with you some great stories out this week on postpartum depression and related issues:

The first is from my friend Rita Arens at BlogHer. She wrote an in-depth piece about eating disorders, postpartum depression, and the relation between the two. The article is about research conducted by the University of North Carolina that found that a previous eating disorder can be a risk factor for PPD. Check it out!

The second is from our friends at the MGH Center for Women’s Mental Health and sums up a study on the impact of depression during pregnancy (also called antenatal depression). One finding was that ” … males of mothers who had depression during pregnancy had higher anxiety scores at one year of age than males in the control group. Girls of mothers who had depression during pregnancy had higher oppositional/defiant scores at one year of age than girls in the control group.” This was a small study so (as per usual) the researchers suggest that more research is needed.

Aaaand … I was very excited to see this piece in the Washington Post‘s On Parenting column about postpartum depression and breastfeeding called “It’s Okay if You Don’t Breastfeed”. (It is okay!) Thanks to Jennifer Kogan for the shout-outs to Postpartum Progress, Adrienne Griffen of Postpartum Support Virginia and Lynne McIntyre, DC coordinator for PSI.

Also, Lori at the blog I Can Grow People has just done a 2-part series on the 2-year anniversary of when she spoke up and finally told someone she was struggling with postpartum depression. Part 1 is here and part 2 is here. And our friend Grace also wrote about her experience 2 years ago with PPD in a guest post at Sluiter Nation.