A link to a really interesting article regarding postpartum depression: Postpartum Depression and the New Mom.
Another really good website to check out is Postpartum Progress.
These websites are designed to give women support that up until the web generation was not readily available. Kaleen has recently completed additional training to begin assess and assist local moms who might be struggling with depression either during pregnancy or during the first year after having a baby.
Six Things Every New Mom & Mom-To-Be Should Know About PPD
1. Postpartum depression can and often does happen.
Many people believe that postpartum depression is fairly rare. Actually, 15-20% of new moms – about 1 million women in the US each year – experience these illnesses, and some studies report that the number may be even higher. It is quite common. In fact, it is the number one complication of childbirth. You are not alone.
2. Postpartum depression is only one in a spectrum of perinatal mental illnesses.
Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders include antepartum depression, postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, postpartum OCD, postpartum psychosis and postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder. One size does not fit all – there are all kinds of symptoms you may (or may not) experience in the period during pregnancy and after birth. These include:
• Sadness
• Mood swings
• Difficulty concentrating
• Irritation or anger (with yourself and/or those around you)
• Lack of interest in things you used to enjoy
• Sleep and appetite changes
• Panic attacks
• Excessive worry about your baby
• Disturbing thoughts about harming yourself or your baby
• Mania
• Racing thoughts
• Panic attacks
• Headaches and stomach problems
• Guilt
• Feeling like you should never have become a mother or that you won’t be able to do it
• Delusions or hallucinations
(For more information on each illness and its symptoms, visit the Postpartum Support International website at http://www.postpartum.net/brief.html )
3. Symptoms can appear anytime during pregnancy and the entire first year after birth.
Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders can occur during pregnancy, as well as any time in the 12 months after having your baby. Baby blues, a normal adjustment period after birth, normally lasts 2-3 weeks postpartum. If you have some of the symptoms listed above, they have stayed the same or gotten worse, and you’re 5 to 6 weeks postpartum, you are no longer experience baby blues and may have a perinatal mood or anxiety disorder.
4. You didn’t do anything to cause this.
You are not defective, or weak, or a bad person. While we don’t know the exact cause of these illnesses yet, research shows there are a wide variety of risk factors, from your family’s medical history, to how your body processes certain hormones, to the level of stress you’re experiencing now or did in the past, to how much support you have to help you care for your baby. What we do know is that this is not your fault. Don’t beat yourself up for getting a common and treatable illness.
5. The sooner you get treatment the better.
Many recent studies show that both the physical and emotion health of women who go untreated, and their children, are negatively impacted over the long term. You deserve to be healthy, and your child needs a healthy mom. There is no good reason to delay reaching out for help.
6. There is no need to go it alone.
Everyone needs help sometimes. It just happens to be your turn. There are plenty of healthcare professionals who know all about these illnesses and how to help you recover. As awful and shocked as you feel about your situation, nothing you say about what you’re feeling and thinking should surprise them. Visit Postpartum Support International at www.postpartum.net to find resources in your area, or check out the Postpartum Progress support group list and the if you feel that you may be suffering a perinatal mood or anxiety disorder, I hope this list serves as a little light at the end of the tunnel. What you’re going through is temporary and treatable. With professional help, your joy can be restored. We hope you’ll keep reading Postpartum Progress for continued information and support.
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