Purpose: Postpartum mood disorders (PMDs), the distressing mental and emotional symptoms experienced by women after childbirth, are just now receiving the attention they warrant. Given the serious and sometimes life‐threatening nature of PMDs, we used a qualitative research design to examine more closely the nature of symptoms experienced and the effective strategies women used to cope with PMD. Participants: The respondents were 252 members of PMD and breast‐feeding (La Leche League) support groups throughout the United States. Method: Participants responded anonymously to open‐ended questions in an online survey. The data were reviewed by the research team to determine common themes and prevailing issues. Results: Participants reported myriad different symptoms and used a host of various strategies to alleviate problematic thoughts, feelings, and behaviours following childbirth. Postpartum symptoms affected participants’ plans to have future children. For some women, symptoms became more intense during subsequent births. Despite the problematic nature of PMD, more than half of the participants reported receiving little or no information from healthcare providers about PMDs. Implications for counsellors and other healthcare providers are discussed in detail.

This article reports the findings of a study examining the impact of female life events (men-arche   This study grew out of personal, anecdotal conversations about experiences of becoming a woman in the 1980s. As we reflected on adolescent experiences of menarche, "the sex talk," and loss of virginity, common themes emerged of negative messages, awkward conversations, and shame. As adults, we were able to find some humor and perspective related to these themes. It led us to wonder about the potential negative impact these combined experiences had on our development of sexual agency, which refers to the feeling as if one can do and act within the sexual domain. Informal expanded discussion with our peers resulted in numerous accounts of similar experiences during puberty. This further piqued our interest in studying possible connections between the early experiences of becoming a woman and the subsequent ability to engage in healthy sexual practices in adulthood.An initial review of the literature indicated a paucity of research focused on potential connections among the key events in female sexual development. Teitelman (2004) went so far as to state, "there are no studies that specifically examine girls' perspectives of family