- With Mayo Clinic psychiatrist
Gabrielle J. Melin, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Gabrielle J. Melin, M.D.
Gabrielle J. Melin, M.D.
Dr. Gabrielle Melin, board certified in general psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine, is looking for ways to empower patients and families dealing with chronic mental illness. She encourages patients to commit to working together with their physicians and health care teams.
Dr. Melin completed medical school at the University of Minnesota. She completed both her psychiatry residency and consultation-liaison fellowship at Mayo Clinic before joining the Mayo Clinic staff in 2001. She is medical director of Mayo Clinic Psychiatry Emergency Services in Rochester, Minn. She has special interests in emergency psychiatry, adult psychiatry and addiction psychiatry.
"Instilling hope is one of the most important things we can do for patients and families. Mental illness can be chronic and significantly impacts lives. Our goal is to provide the best treatment and education so that patients can manage their symptoms more effectively," she said.
Latest entries
- Being grateful: Giving thanks helps with depression
Nov. 18, 2009
- Depression and diet: Make healthy choices
Oct. 27, 2009
- Depression and heart disease: Get the facts
Oct. 21, 2009
- Depression and pregnancy: What you need to know
Oct. 8, 2009
- Treating depression helps productivity
Sept. 30, 2009
Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Depression blog
-
Oct. 8, 2009
Depression and pregnancy: What you need to know
By Gabrielle J. Melin, M.D.
It's important to discuss your plans for
| Need more help? |
|
Here are some findings from research on pregnancy and depression:
- Babies born to moms with depression have an increased risk for irritability, less activity and attentiveness and fewer facial expressions.
- There are possible fetal abnormalities when mothers take antidepressants in the first trimester. But there's not a particular pattern associated with a specific medication or class of medications.
Some specific treatment recommendations include:
- Talk to your provider early if you are planning to conceive. You can talk about the best options for you as an individual.
- Encourage the provider who will deliver your baby and your mental health provider to consult with each other on the best options for you. They will help you understand the risks and benefits of medication versus therapy, etc.
- If you are taking an antidepressant for depression, don't discontinue or change your dose of medication on your own. This could be dangerous and your symptoms could worsen.
- If you have severe depression and are pregnant, you should remain on medication.
0 comments posted