"I have a new baby. Why do I feel so depressed?" A Look at Postpartum Depression

By Merely Me Monday, August 17, 2009

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It is one of those times in a woman's life which holds high emotional expectations. You are given your "bundle of joy" and then you are sent home to relish your life as a new mother. But what if you aren't experiencing that joy everyone told you that you would feel. What if, instead, you find yourself more tearful than your baby? What if you can't quite shake the feeling of intense sadness and even despair? The world expects you to be glowing and happy but you are not. So you find yourself withdrawing more and more from people, afraid to talk about how you really feel.

This is not an uncommon scenario for a lot of women who are experiencing what is known as postpartum depression. The UNC Center for Women's Mood Disorders and contributor for Health Central's My Depression Connection, tell us that the first three months after having a baby is the most prevalent time for symptoms of postpartum depression to appear. And add to this, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists say that one in ten new mothers will experience this type of depression.

Whenever I think about postpartum depression, I tend to think of the verbal battle between actress and former model, Brooke Shields and actor and couch jumper, Tom Cruise. I am sure many of you remember how Mr. Cruise expressed his disappointment that Brooke Shields had used Paxil to help her through her postpartum depression and then told Matt Lauer of the Today show that he didn't understand the history of psychiatry. In a 2005 New York Times editorial entitled, "War of Words" Brooke Shields said what many mothers wanted to say and that is: "While Mr. Cruise says that Mr. Lauer and I do not "understand the history of psychiatry," I'm going to take a wild guess and say that Mr. Cruise has never suffered from postpartum depression." I am sure many women applauded with a "Right on sister!"

There is a definite biological component to postpartum depression which cannot be ignored. The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services tells us that the hormones estrogen and progesterone increase greatly during pregnancy. But after childbirth these hormonal levels plummet and this change can cause depression. In addition thyroid hormones may also decrease dramatically after childbirth and this too can lead to fatigue, mood swings, and depression.

There are also psychological risk factors to developing postpartum depression including a history of depression, marital or relationship problems, financial difficulties, and self esteem issues of worrying about whether you will be a good mother.

What are the signs of postpartum depression? And how does one know if they have what many call "The Baby Blues" as opposed to a more serious postpartum depression?

The literature seems to indicate that the baby blues and postpartum depression differ in intensity of symptoms and duration. The baby blues generally lasts less than two weeks.

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Comments (6) | Add comment

Anonymous

8/17/09 4:48pm

Dear Merely,

I am writing quite a lot lately and this is because I am not working for a while and so I am in front of the computer most of the time. This will change soon so that you will not have to put up with me popping up every day on the site here. I am aware that many people disagree with me and be glad if I didn't write so much. I will go back to work soon next months so that I will write less. In any case I have done some research on this topic and while I agree with you that Tom Cruse said something really stupid that I am sure he regretrs I know that the situation is not purely biological because many mothers told me so. While in a hospital I have had the fortune to interview many mothers (50) who suffered from post partum depression. Their concern was often based on the fear to raise their children in what they thought was an insane world. Suddenly they have the responsibility of a child and consideration of the environment is a big factor. The world in which we live can become a frightening place for a mother and her baby. Economic situation, problems with partners, job, responsibility and so on all played a big part. Yes it is biological and due to hormones but also a social problem possibly due to a traumatic experience as well. If I was a woman about to have a baby, with limited financial resources, no partner (like many woman were alone), problems with families, no place to really call my own and so on I would be depressed as well. Many mothers whom I interviewed had financial and social problems. This seemed to be a great factor in the development of their depression. So which is it biological or environmental or social? Hard to say. I feel that all of these factors are relevant. I think that in the treatment of mental illness we have to stop debating about biological social or environmental causes. It is best, in most cases, to treat mind, body and culture. When in doubt use all of our resources.

Merely Me

8/17/09 6:35pm

Hi Alfredo!

I do agree it hard to sort out depression into causes. It may be different for every person who experiences this. The one strong point I do wish to make is that if a woman is experiencing postpartum depression symptoms it is very important to get help. A lot of women may not wish to get help because they feel ashamed or that they should not be feeling this way. There is help and there is hope.

Anonymous

8/17/09 4:58pm

I would like to add that I remember specifically asking the women in the study if they thought their depression was due to hormones or a biological problem due to giving birth. 47 believe it was not biological but due to their fear about the baby's future, their financial problems, the fact that they had no partner or that the partner was just a child himself and so on. For the majority of these women it was a cultural problem. I have the research paper somewhere which I did to help a female student so we decided to do it as a joint effort. In case you wonder whythe hack am I doing research on post partum depression. I personally do not know but I feel that we have a tendency to jump to the biological reasoning. It is automatic with us. But have we got definite proof? I don't know about this. One thing is for sure if I was a mother about to have a baby in this world of ours I would be terrified to say the least biological causes or not.

Alfredo

Anonymous

8/17/09 5:28pm

Hi Dr Oleg here,

it is interesting to know that I once read research about the Eskimos culture, the Traditional American Indian culture, the Traditional Australian Aboriginal Culture, the people of hte Israeli Kibbutz, and other alternative communities who had never heard of post partum depression or any similar concept. Perhaps mothers of these cultures could give birth knowing that their children would have a good chance at a clean life

Judy

8/17/09 6:49pm

I have experienced this and I'd have to say that it was probably both biological and cultural in original, plus a little trauma thrown in. My first child was 26 days overdue - I was sure I was going to be the first woman in history to be eternally pregnant. When I finally started labor, I almost was in denial. Well, after 24 hours of that, my son's heart would stop beating every time there was a contraction, so I ended up with a C-section. I didn't get to see him for 12 hours because they were checking him out, they saw something on an x-ray. When they finally brought him to me, he was on his way to the children's hospital (not connected to the hospital I was at), they thought he had a heart problem, so they baptized him and off he went. They finally figured out that he had a collapsed lung, so that got taken care of. I was in the hospital for a week, had a few complications, and they thought they'd just keep him at the children's hospital until I got out. I almost freaked out because I'd barely seen him, hadn't had any lessons in feeding, bathing, etc., so my husband demanded they bring him back. Okay, one hurdle done.

When we got him home, he would cry most of the day - and so did I! My husband stayed home for the first week, which helped a lot, but after that I was on my own. My mother never came to help me and any time I asked her a question about something, she couldn't remember. I kept feeling like if I could go back to work, I would feel like myself. Because I had been off work for so long beforehand (thinking he would be born a month sooner than he was), I went back to work fairly soon, and by this time we had battled milk allergy and, even worse, soy allergy. The one bright spot was that he cried so much during the day, he was sleeping through the night at 2 weeks old.

I still continued to feel great anxiety, crying over stupid things, so after 9 months, I finally went to the doctor, who gave me Elavil. God, that was such a relief. It probably helped the anxiety more than anything, but I finally felt like "myself." But I wonder if I would have needed it if I hadn't had to go back to work so soon and if I had had more help from family - or ANYBODY. When my second son was born, my sister-in-law helped me a lot and the minute I started feeling that depression hitting, I had arranged with the doctor that he would get me a prescription, so I avoided hitting the bottom with that one.

Having a baby changes your life more than anything else I can think of, even getting married. You are responsible for that little life and it can sometimes feel like a burden, especially if you don't get much help. If it takes a little chemical help to keep you from doing something harmful to your baby or yourself, so be it, and maybe there wouldn't be as much of a need for it - if there were more help. When you have a job, you're expected to be right back at it after 6 weeks or whatever, unless you can afford time off without pay and then there's the anxiety of finding daycare that's reliable, which can be a nightmare. Back then, there were very few daycare centers, mostly private homes, so you hoped you could trust your gut instinct about the people you interviewed. When one quit, you had to frantically find another one and go through the process all over again.

I probably went on way too long, but 35 years later, I still can vividly remember the postpartum depression. When my grandson was born, I made sure I was available to help out whenever they needed me because I knew what it was like. Some people seem to have little trouble adjusting but I think if you have a tendency to or history of depression, it can throw you right in there with the hormones and it helps to be aware of the possibility. I hadn't even heard the term used back then. Well, at least we've learned a few things over the years!

Merely Me

8/17/09 9:14pm

Thank you Judy for this!

I am so glad you have shared your firsthand experience with this. I think it is so important for women who are having these symptoms to not feel like they need to hide and that they can get some kind of help whether that be counseling, support, or medication. I think we have progressed over the years that we can talk about these things...there is a name for these symptoms...and there is support and treatment.

If a woman is so depressed that she is unable to care for herself and her baby, is thinking of hurting herself or her baby...yes it is time to get help!

It is amazing what the human body goes through with pregnancy. And after...you are sleep deprived, the "happy hormones" have been depleted, some of us are anemic from losing blood, it is a big deal physically. And then you add all the emotional factors of suddenly being responsible for this tiny vulnerable being. Then add the person's specific circumstances....do they have supports? Do they have the financial means to raise a baby? Are they also caring for other children or even an aging parent? There are so many factors to consider.

Regardless of the cause of postpartum depression, my main message is that there is help. You don't have to suck it up and just suffer because you think you should not feel this way.

Your story has definitely helped in that regard Judy...to let others who are dealing with this...to reach out. Thank you again.

"I have a new baby. Why do I feel so depressed?" A Look at Postpartum Depression

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