Is postpartum real?

YES, YES, YES !!! 

What is postpartum depression?

Depression is an illness that effects the brain.    You often feel anxious, blue and empty feeling for an extended time.

What causes depression?

A chemical imbalance in your brain causes depression.



How can I be sure I am depressed?



            Feeling restless or moody

• Feeling sad, hopeless, and overwhelmed
• Crying a lot
• Having no energy or motivation
• Eating too little or too much
• Sleeping too little or too much
• Having trouble focusing or making decisions
• Having memory problems
• Feeling worthless and guilty
• Losing interest or pleasure in activities you used to enjoy
• Withdrawing from friends and family
• Having headaches, aches and pains, or stomach problems that don't go away

Your doctor can figure out if your symptoms are caused by depression or something else.


WHO GETS DEPRESSION?


Women with a family history and hormonal factors, such as pregnancy,  are most likely to get depression.


There are three categories of depression after pregnancy,

The most mild is the baby blues:

• Have mood swings
• Feel sad, anxious, or overwhelmed
• Have crying spells
• Lose your  appetite
• Have trouble sleeping

The baby blues most often go away within a few days or a week. The symptoms are not severe and do not need treatment.

The second type is postpartum depression:

• Thoughts of hurting the baby
• Thoughts of hurting yourself
• Not having any interest in the baby

Postpartum depression needs to be treated by a doctor.


The last type of depression is postpartum psychosis : 

• Seeing things that aren't there
• Feeling confused
• Having rapid mood swings
• Trying to hurt yourself or your baby

Women with bi polar disorder are more prone to this.

How is it treated?

Therapy and medicines can treat depression.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, PLEASE call your doctor.

PLEASE know that you are NOT alone.  Many women do like to talk about postpartum depression because they are embarrassed. 

I experienced PPD after Sophia was born.  It started only within days or a week of coming home.  I was an overwhelmed single mother.  I cried all the time.  If I couldn't stop her from crying, I would cry with her.  If she wanted to eat what I thought was too much food, I cried.  (after a day of that I called the peds dr and he told me she can drink as much breast milk as she wanted.  So i cried more before I told him I didn't want her to be fat from drinking so much milk.  He assured me she would not get fat and could drink as much breast milk as she wanted.)  There were times when I just cried because I thought about crying.  I finally went to the ob-gyn instead of work one morning because after 3 weeks I could not stop crying and I was having SEVERE separation anxiety. 


The ob-gyn confirmed I did have postpartum depression and prescribed a mild anti depressant.  I refused to take it because I was still breast feeding  so i cried about that and the doctor reassured me that it was safe for me to still breast feed.  After about 3 weeks I started feeling more like myself and have been fine since. 

Please know you are not alone and talk to someone.

Thanks to:

http://www.womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/depression-pregnancy.cfm

Dawn