728x90
my iParenting
From Our Sponsors
e-newsletters
Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters

new terms of use
new privacy policy
award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Home › Articles › Postpartum Issues › Postpartum Depression

Postpartum Depression

When Having a Baby Gives You More Than the Blues

Part One

By Karen Kleiman, MSW

Pages:  1  2  

When a baby is born, everyone expects that this will be the best time in their life. No one expects this time to be complicated by tears, frustrations, feelings of inadequacy, anxiety attacks and/or depression. It doesn't always make sense and it certainly isn't fair.

Julie* couldn't figure out why she felt so badly. Her baby was born three months ago, beautiful and healthy. Her delivery was uneventful and she and her husband, David, had been looking forward to this time for months. Everything seemed to be going perfectly.

But something was wrong. Julie wasn't able to put her finger on it, but she just didn't feel right. She felt uneasy, nervous and just not like herself. She noticed that she cried often and easily, at the silliest things. David told her that he was getting tired of her being so irritable and negative all the time. "Great," she said sarcastically. "Thanks for your support."

As the tension between the two of them increased, Julie continued to feel more out of control. She was troubled by constant worries about her baby and didn't seem able to get these thoughts out of her mind. She started waking in the middle of the night and not being able to go back to sleep. "This isn't like me at all," she said to her friend. "I feel like I'm going crazy."

Many women have heard of postpartum depression (PPD). Studies show that up to 30 percent of all new mothers experience clinical depression and/or anxiety after childbirth. Like Julie, some think it is a state of craziness that they see exaggerated and sensationalized by the media. Others think it is a condition that only affects women who did not want their babies, or women who are not good mothers, or women who are weak. Still others, indeed most women, believe it is something that only happens to somebody else.


Pages:  1  2  

Want to see more?

Comments

There are no comments for this article yet.Be the first to add a comment.

Post As:
Enter your comment below:
Title
Comment Text
CAPTCHA
Please note that any comments submitted become the property of Disney Family / iParenting and can be edited and posted at our discrection.