discussion
The clinical implication of these findings for nursing requires that we alter our practice to more adequately meet the needs of women during pregnancy and in the postnatal period. It is important that we acknowledge stressors that women have identified as contributing to the development of thier PPMD. This should direct our practice by giving us important opportunities to ask women without judgment about the emotional impact of thier pregnancy, previous mental health issues, birth experiences, and breastfeeding issues. This may provide helpful the insight into the mental well-being of a women and allow for open and safe discussions in various clinical contexts. The continuing stigma and shame associated with having a psychiatric illness serves as a significant barrier for women to seek out help from lay and professional others when experiencing a PPMD(Pinto-Foltz& Logsdon,2008). In this study, the mothers spoke often of the stigma around mental illness that forced them to hide and mask thier symtoms and negative feelings around mothering ultimately diminishing thier quality of life. At the same time, in delaying thier treatment to avoid judgment from orthers, thy identified that thier interactions with thier children were often markedlly compromised. Maternal mood disorders greatly diminish the quality of the interaction between the dyad