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Postpartum Depression: When having a baby
gives you more than the blues
by Karen Kleiman, MSW

Part Three

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.

In my book, This Isn't What I Expected, we present a checklist of symptoms that is useful for mothers to determine whether what they are feeling is problematic or not. Below is an excerpt from the book:

The following is a list of ways you might be feeling now. These are statements often made by women suffering from PPD. Look over the list and check any statements that correspond to your own feelings.

Postpartum Depression Symptom Checklist:

I can't shake feeling depressed no matter what I do.
I cry at least once a day.
I feel sad most or all of the time.
I can't concentrate.
I don't enjoy the things that I used to enjoy.
I have no interest in making love at all, even though my doctor says I'm now physically able to resume sexual relations.
I can't sleep, even when my baby sleeps.
I feel like a failure all of the time.
I have no energy; I am tired all the time.
I have no appetite and no enjoyment of food (or, I am having sugar and carbohydrate cravings and compulsively eating all the time.)
I can't remember the last time I laughed.
Every little thing gets on my nerves lately. Sometimes, I am even furious at my baby. Often, I am angry with my husband.
I feel that the future is hopeless.
It seems like I will feel this way forever.
There are times when I feel that it would be better to be dead than to feel this way for one more minute.

Although most new mothers will easily relate to one or two of the statements listed avove, they also will have periods of good feelings and see that things will improve as this transition period progresses. However, women with PPD usually agree with many or even all of the statements included here and generally feel these symptoms most or all of each and every day. If you agreed with four or more of these statements, you may be suffering from the syndrome of postpartum depression. Typically, PPD is only diagnosed when these symptoms have lasted for two or more weeks. (Excerpted from This Isn't What I Expected: Overcoming Postpartum Depression, by Karen Kleiman, MSW, and Valerie Raskin, MD, Bantam, 1994, pp 5-6)

Some physical symptoms of PPD can include fatigue, panic, restlessness, anxiety, palpitations, difficulty concentrating, short-term memory impairment, sleep difficulties, loss of appetite, stomach problems, chills, shortness of breath, dizziness. Women who experience some of these feelings are often terrified and struggle to pretend it isn't happening in the hope that these feelings will go away. Often there is shame or embarrassment attached to some of these feelings, which increases the tendency to withdraw and not get the help that is needed.

Next Part
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four

About the Author: Karen Kleiman, MSW, is a clinical social worker and mother of two who writes and lectures on the subject of postpartum depression. She is the author of This isn’t What I Expected: Overcoming Postpartum Depression (Bantam Books, 1994). Ms. Kleiman is founder and director of The Postpartum Stress Center which provides educational consultation, diagnostic assessment, and group & individual therapy for women and their families who experience difficulties related to pregnancy, pregnancy loss and the postpartum period.

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