Understanding & Combatting Postpartum Depression

Are you pregnant with your first baby and feeling worried about the possibility of Postpartum Depression? Or maybe you’ve been lucky with your first two births, but now you find yourself sitting up late with your newborn wondering why you feel so different this time around. Or maybe  reading this post is the first time you’ve really heard of PPD. In my experience, even those mamas who have heard the term, know very little about what symptoms look like or how they manifest. Regardless of your knowledge on the topic, one trend has remained the same—SHAME still exists around being diagnosed with any kind of mental illness. This. Has. To. Stop. Postpartum Depression, or PPD, is extremely common. In fact, it affects 1 in 7 mamas— meaning at least 1 or more of your mama friends has struggled with it in one form or another. We need to start talking about it and building warm communities of support rather than judgment. And that starts with YOU.

Whether we want to admit it or not, as a society, mental health conditions permeate the majority. Whether anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, or PPD, it’s all important and all deserves positive attention and empathy. But for some reason PPD in particular gets a bad rap and is prone to higher shame than many other prevalent conditions today. Even in 2019 PPD is often misunderstood even by health care professionals. Sadly, general society often assumes PPD is when you don’t love your newborn child, which naturally causes many to wonder how that’s possible; leading them to believe these are just bad mothers. This assumption couldn’t be further from the truth. But that’s general society for you—buying into a stereotype without educating themselves on what it really involves. As a culture, we expect mothers to bounce back quickly, get fit, stop complaining, and to just deal with it. Our society also has the same opinion on grief (major eye roll!) That’s why you should never listen to general society on anything! So all you can do is roll your eyes at such naivety and move on toward what really matters in life.

To begin, Postpartum Depression should not be confused with “baby blues,” which involves feelings of weepiness, loneliness, anxiousness, etc. These symptoms are typically mild and only last one to two weeks after birth. Believe it or not, “baby blues” affects up to 80% of women postpartum! Are we really surprised?! You carry a baby for 9+ months, you endure long hours or days of labor, and then you are immediately asked to take care of the unending demands of a newborn while trying to recover while trying to figure out a new feeding and sleep routine. It’s incredibly overwhelming. Sleep deprivation and overall fatigue are no doubt influencing factors here too. So be patient with yourself as your body and hormones adjust to your new normal. If you notice your symptoms are lingering for a month or more and they feel overwhelming or debilitating, it could be PPD.

So what exactly is PPD and what does it look like? Postpartum Depression is a mood disorder that usually follows birth either immediately or even months after. Shortly after birth, the levels of estrogen and progesterone drop significantly leading to changes in your brain, which ultimately affects your moods. Additionally, physical changes such as constant sleep deprivation and body image changes can contribute to or exacerbate PPD. Specifically, PPD affects an average of 15% of mothers (and up to 10% of fathers!)—and my guess is this statistic is low because it only includes the number of cases REPORTED. Many women either don’t know they have/had it until much later and/or never seek help. Many women feel so ashamed to feel anything BUT a glow after birth. But this blog is about honesty so the lying stops here. Motherhood is emotionally and physically brutal. It’s completely consuming. It’s terrifying. It’s lonely.

Postpartum Depression is a chemical imbalance and usually needs treatment. You typically can’t just go to the gym and acquire more endorphins to make it go away—although exercise in any form does help some. If you can’t function or complete tasks to care for yourself and/or baby on a daily basis GET HELP. This diagnosis touches women of all colors, socioeconomic statuses, etc. It does not discriminate. Nonetheless, there are a few things that can predispose you to PPD. First, if you have a personal or family history of mood disorders such as bipolar disorder or major depression you are more at risk. Second, if any medical complications arise during childbirth (i.e. unplanned C-Section, baby visits the NICU for a period of time, or unexpected medical concerns with baby) this can also set the tone for Postpartum Depression. Having a strong support system (i.e. nurturing, helpful, empathic partner, family or friends to help with food prep, laundry, or childcare) in place does make you more resilient to PPD. It really does take a village!

Below are some common symptoms that differentiate PPD from other mental health diagnoses. You don’t have to have to present with ALL of these, but if you feel many of these SEEK HELP even if just for a second opinion. Also bear in mind that PPD looks a little different for every mama.

• Disinterest in baby
• Excessive worry about not being a good mother or feeling inadequate
• Feeling worthless or hopeless
• Feeling extreme sadness or emptiness
• Feeling extremely anxious or excessively worrying
• Oversleeping or under sleeping
• Overeating or under eating
• Feeling irritable, angry, or rageful
• Crying more frequently than usual for no apparent reason
• Withdrawing from friends and family
• Having trouble bonding with baby
• Fear of being left alone with baby or fear something bad might happen
• Thoughts of wanting to hurt yourself or baby
• Overwhelming panic attacks
• Overall consuming feeling of apathy
• Losing interest in previously pleasurable activities
• Feeling you are in a darkness, fog, or numb
• Feeling smothered and/or wanting to go back to life before baby
• Feeling defective
• Belief that family is “better off without me”
• Feeling like your mind and body don’t belong to you

The good news is, PPD is a temporary condition IF you get help. It will last much longer if left untreated, which then negatively affects your relationship with baby and partner in irreversible ways. Unfortunately, medical care providers are not strong at assessing for PPD or noticing it during the postpartum period. OB’s are especially less receptive. They are busy, overbooked, overworked, or overtired. I’ve personally had more positive experiences with midwives proactively assessing for PPD. If your health care provider doesn’t assess and you don’t feel like yourself shortly after birth SPEAK UP. Treatment is typically short-term talk therapy (aka counseling) or an antidepressant regimen—or a combination of both. If you feel you or your baby are in immediate danger, go to your local emergency room or call the suicide hotline. There are also online support groups specifically tailored to help you get through PPD. My favorite is Postpartum Support International. Furthermore, consider whether social media platforms are contributing to your PPD given the comparing and competitive nature. Or could your PPD be connected to difficulty breastfeeding or the guilt attached to that?

Lastly, it’s important to know about Postpartum Psychosis. It is a rare disorder involving extreme mood swings that can lead to violent behaviors, delusions (irrational ideas), or hallucinations (hearing voices). Having a serious mental health condition such as bipolar or schizophrenia prior to birth does predispose you to this. Delaying treatment of PPD can also lead to full-blown Postpartum Psychosis.

On an end note, due to my semi-crunchy tendencies, I thought I’d add a tidbit about supplemental therapies to help with PPD. First and foremost, exercise is a huge supplemental regimen that has been proven to help alleviate any kind of depressive symptoms as mentioned earlier. Second, aromatherapy has also been noted as a wonderful supplemental therapy for various health conditions. Jasmine, Chamomile, Orange, Lavender, Geranium, Ylang Ylang or doTERRA’s Joyful or Balance blends all encourage relaxation and positive emotions during the postpartum period. These can be diffused or rubbed on feet, wrists, temples, or back of neck. Third, placenta encapsulation has also been thought to aid in decreasing the risk of PPD. And as much as I want to believe in this, there is unfortunately no data to support that it has any effect on PPD. However, that doesn’t mean it won’t in the future! So stay tuned!

Reference used for this article: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/postpartum-depression-facts/index.shtml