Every woman deserves an emotionally healthy and rewarding pregnancy
Welcome to this educational resource backed by medical research & inspired by questions from hundreds of my past and current patients. You’ll find helpful info on mood, anxiety, depression, mental illness, hormones, treatments, and resources.
I’ve been honored to contribute to these outstanding institutions:
What's Up With Zuranolone for PPD?
In this article, we will discuss the new FDA-approved medication for postpartum depression called Zuranolone. Zuranolone is the first medication approved by the FDA with a specific indication for postpartum depression, which is unique because it works quite quickly.
Launch of our Accelerated Treatment Program
You deserve your best self. This program gets you there.
A first of its kind — virtual, intensive, and accelerated four-week mental health treatment program uniquely for pregnant and postpartum women and their specific mental health struggles.
What is Integrative Psychiatry?
The difference between integrative psychiatry and traditional psychiatry is sometimes described as the difference between focusing on wellness (integrative) versus illness (traditional). Often, in more traditional psychiatry, the goal is to identify the illness and then treat that. This works for many patients. However, there are some…
5 Tips on How to Read Medical Journals
I always rely on a variety of medical journals and scientific literature when making clinical assessments and recommendations. My goal here is to help you translate that often difficult-to-read medical jargon into useful information that can help answer a good number of your questions about pregnancy…
Partner Violence During Pregnancy
The number one cause of death during pregnancy is partner violence. Domestic violence (also called intimate partner violence, IPV) is defined by the American Medical Association as a pattern of abusive behavior in an intimate relationship. Overall rates of domestic violence are 20-25% over a woman’s lifetime, but it is generally thought that abuse is…
Want a Better Labor Experience? Hire a Doula!
Research has proven that doulas, defined as lay women who assist with childbirth, can have significant positive impact on your labor, delivery, and even the postpartum experience. The assistance provided by a doula includes physical, emotional, and information support, and it extends from the active phase of labor through into the postpartum period. Some of the valuable elements of this aid includes…
Postpartum Depression in Dads
Fathers are fifty percent of a couple, supplying half of the genetic material to create a baby, but when we talk about the postpartum period, they receive less than 10% of the attention. This means that as much as postpartum depression is missed or underdiagnosed in women, it is that much more so in men…
Medication Safety Review Series: SSRIs
This series will review a medication (commonly used in mental health treatment) weekly to describe its safety profile and answer five important questions. SSRIs are the first line medications for treatment mood and anxiety illnesses during pregnancy, postpartum, and outside the reproductive period. These medications act on…
Medication Safety Review Series: Lamotrigine (aka Lamictal)
This series will review a medication (commonly used in mental health treatment) weekly to describe its safety profile and answer five important questions. Lamotrigine (or as its known by its brand name, Lamictal) is a medication that was initially introduced to treat seizure disorders and more recently has been found to be helpful as a mood stabilizer. It is often prescribed for…
Coping With Infertility and its Emotional Toll
Infertility for a couple is a highly stressful life circumstance. It can last months to years, and the chronic stress has mental health repercussions. These consequences – depression and anxiety – are important to recognize because these conditions can impact both ongoing problems with fertility as well as…
PCOS and its Connection to Mood
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects 5% of reproductive aged women and is one of the most common reasons for infertility. It is a condition characterized by symptoms that include physical symptoms of hormonal disruption, ovarian cysts, irregular menstruation, obesity, increased hair growth, impaired glucose function, high blood pressure, and acne. Each of these…
Four Steps to Overcome the Stigma of Infertility
Stigma – a mark of shame or disgrace – comes in today’s world with different circumstances, from bankruptcy to mental illness to infertility. Infertility affects 6 million Americans (and about 8-9% of couples worldwide), and yet many women feel quite alone when trying to emotionally cope with involuntary childlessness. While the number of treatment options and assisted reproductive technologies have been…
Breastfeeding: When Breast May Not Be Best
Breastfeeding your baby – an action so natural, yet not so easy. Many women struggle in the postpartum period with breastfeeding, whether it is your first baby or your third. There is often pressure to breastfeed because we hear so much about how it is the best option for a baby. I have seen many women develop significant anxiety about…
Treatment Options for Insomnia in Pregnancy
Sleep in pregnancy can be a challenge and poor sleep leads to various emotional and physical consequences. Before seeking treatment for sleep, it is important to evaluate the potential reasons why you might be having difficulty with sleep, whether it is…
Perinatal Depression? Massage Can Help
We have previously discussed the importance of treating depression during pregnancy, given the potential consequences on the developing infant and the delivery. This article focuses on one specific type of treatment – massage – as a means of managing the symptoms of depression. Massage as a form of treatment can be quite varied, and includes…
Sleep Disturbance in Pregnancy
In pregnancy, sleep can be significantly altered. You might find yourself waking up too early, or too many times. You might find it hard to fall asleep, with thoughts racing. You might feel physically uncomfortable. And you might wake up not feeling refreshed. In fact, more than three quarters of pregnant women report a change or disturbance in their sleep pattern. It is very important to understand…
Guide to Depression during Pregnancy
Many of my patients are surprised to hear how common it is to experience depression during pregnancy. Perhaps this is because pregnancy in today’s society is often viewed as almost a magical time for a woman, full of glowing happiness. However, for many women, this is not the case. Depression during pregnancy…
Anxiety Disorder vs. Stress During Pregnancy
Anxiety is a broad term, which in the general population is often synonymous with worry and stress. In this article, we will separate out two situations: When a woman is feeling stress during pregnancy and having general worries and when a woman is struggling with an anxiety disorder. Pregnancy is an anxiety-provoking time whether you are a new mom or having your third child. Many women ask me…
Dr. Glezer began her training at Harvard and then transitioned to the University of California, San Francisco, where she has been a practicing physician, teacher, mentor, and is an associate professor. She is board certified in adult and forensic psychiatry, a member of the American Psychiatric Association, and the immediate past President of the Northern California Psychiatric Society.
She has worked with hundreds of women going through the emotional challenges of conception, pregnancy, loss, and postpartum. She has been interviewed for, and her written work has appeared on multiple leading sites, including Huffington Post, Fit Pregnancy, Health Line, Help Guide, and more.
She began her private practice to help women throughout the Bay Area access reproductive mental health services and is really passionate about helping as many women as possible.
