Post Partum Depression

I have heard that women who deliver boys are more susceptible to Post Partum Depresssion than if the woman delivers a girl. I have a daughter and a son and I will admit that I suffered from PPD after the birth of my son. I went on Zoloft for about two or three months and then I was fine. My mom also told me that I had to pull myself together for the benefit of my family and for myself. With any type of depression, the only person who is in control is the depressed person. They have to WANT to change and WANT to fix themselves. Whether they need help or meds to get themselves back in order, they have to WANT it. Good luck with your family member. I hope things get better for her.

I've never gone through this myself, but I have a sister in law that is going through it now. In fact she actually tried to take her own life about a month ago, she just had a baby 3 mos. ago, and they said it was post-partum depression. I know it not only affects the mothers but the whole family as well, I know it did us, especially my brother, he thought it was his fault that she did that, he said she'd been talking about it for awhile and he didn't believe her. She's on medication now, and doing better, I don't know why it happens, but its a serious thing.

I have had 4 kids and didn't have depression with none of them. If fact, I was probably the happiest after having the babies, and it wasn't until I became sleep deprived months later, that I got somewhat down, because it was hard caring for children and a baby and keeping the house clean and myself looking halfway decent..lol

Every mother has to face this stage.In her first pregnancy period a woman feel fear, hope and uncertainity. She feels a life is growing up in her womb.Her all thinkings are around her unborn child.She does not think about her body size or of her uglyness.I don't think a pregnant lady looks ugly.Motherhood has an other beauty.Many famous artists portrayed woman's this beauty.If she careful about herself certainly she will recover her health after the birth of her child.The whole matter I see in a man's sight.

well i am completely out of my league here and i know i have no business here replying to this topic seeing that i am a guy and will never have anything remotely similar to this happening in my life for a long time.but it's really scares me to think whether something like this will happen with my wife when the time comes for me to become a father. do you reckon it could be prevented by proper exercise or some good diet or perhaps some medication?

I have learned about post partum depression in college but haven't really met anyone with that condition. My bestfriend had her son last year but only started getting a wee bit depressed a couple of months after. It still was after the pregnancy but I don't think it is included in the definition of post partum depression since it was a few months after already. I'm currently expecting and have been depressed a lot expecially during my first trimester, but got over it now (uhm... sort of hehe) Hopefully, I wouldn't be experiencing that after I give birth next year. There are worse cases, I've read, that the mother would even try to kill her baby because of being too much into her depression. It's horrible!!!

no really don't know anyone who has gone through that, I didn't really have depression and none of my friends every told me that they did after a child.

Hi, yuna!! I will check out the link later. That looks very interesting. I want to respond to your post first before I forget what I have to say, then add later after reading the article. I did felt depressed after giving birth to my baby girl last May of 2007. My boyfriend's mother said that it's normal. I also read about it on pregnancy books and other magazines that boyfriend's grandAunt gave me. It felt like a long PMS (pre and post menstrual syndrome). I was depressed for about 2 to 3 weeks. I thought it wouldn't end. I felt so down. I was crying all day not only because of the pain, but also because of the depression. By the way, I'd undergone a CS. What I was worried about were: Will I be a good mom? Will I be able to handle the stress of this new and daunting responsibility? I am the youngest in our family, so I was kinda pampered. Needing to stand on my own two feet for my kid seemed too great for me to handle. But then, after being pep talked by boyfriend, I was able to cope fast and soon regained my confidence. I have read about people who weren't able to cope up, and this depression became a terminal illness. Too bad, I think.

I'm not a mother, and i know i wont go thru this kind of POst partum depression, but i do know the serious consequences of it.. It does not only affect the mother herself, but also her child, her husband, as well as all the frenz around her.. She will start to be highly suspicious of her husband and any little actions out of the usual, will trigger her 'madness' to things.. THus, most guys dunno how to handle this kind of situation and things go out of hand.. IN most cases, i think what most guys should do, is to give more security to their wife, keep giving them assurance, and loving them just like b4.. Also, man should not make the mistake of giving more attention to the newborn rather than her, and, as a husband, he should not compare his wife's body shape..

After I had my son, sometimes I would just cry and cry over anything and then I would cry some more because I was unhappy about me crying so much.

Some mothers experienced this kind of depression due to their fear of being not pretty or figure out upon the eyes of their husband. But mostly it was took only in a short period of time. While others are taken it long with the problem about their wounds cause of laceration when giving birth by C/S. When I gave birth to my first born I feel it for about two weeks. Thinking that I cannot do what is my usual activities and the feeling that I cannot explain. I was about to cry for nothing. That was last for almost two weeks. And I got recover with the happiness of my husband having a baby I saw also my mother in law happy and they serve as my inspiration not to depressed.

I have 2 daughters and I've experienced this with my younger daughter. At the time I didn't know that it was called post partum depression until I called my mom one day crying and she said "watch it...you probably are experiencing post partum depression". I was like "what?". I then realized what i had been doing. That time I felt like I didn't want to take care of my older daughter and that I felt like I was only forcing myself to care for my newborn baby. I could not stand the crying of both of them. My older daughter being jealous of her little sister, my newborn crying and wanted to be held all the time, my husband who was always out of the house working. I was alone in the house trying to do things all by myself. We used to live in a condo at a 5th floor. One time when I was holding my baby I looked down the window and wondered what if I throw my baby out of the window, then throw out my older daughter, then i'd jump out of the window afterwards and end it all? I was incredibly calm while I was thinking that. Then I looked at my 4 yr old daughter crying and wanting attention then I got mad and yelled at her then suddenly spanked her on her thigh. She cried and cried and then I started crying too...I then said I was so sorry...still holding my 2-week old baby. I went "I can't do this...I can't do this". It was actually that call i made to my mom that made me stop and observe myself. I was like "What the hell was i doing? I'm a good person I can't do this". Years later I saw Brooke Shields on Oprah show talking about her book "Down Came the Rain" which is about post partum depression. I remember Brooke telling that one day she was imagining her son being thrown across her house and against the wall. The audience was very quiet. I could totally relate to what she was saying. Oprah went "May I say that you are so brave on sharing this with us". New moms should not be left alone with their newborn baby for the first 3 mos. I think my depression was triggered by my constantly being alone in the house that time with my 2 young children and I had no one to talk to. I was so horrified when I learned of what Andrea Yates did to her 5 children years ago. Thank goodness I got off my depression before it was too late.

I went through this with my son very briefly. I was depressed because I thought my son deserved better than I could give him, and that I was unfit to deserve him. I was single and didnt know how it was gonna be for us. Looking back on it now I realize as I cried every day for the first week he was with me, when I looked at him and felt that I was unworthy I was depressed. Thank goodness for Friends and Family that were always there to help me out when I was truly down, and thanks to there support I was able to get over it and move on.

I think that of all the women I've met who have had children, more often that not they suffered post-partum depression. Based on my own experiences I think it is underdiagnosed. I went through a terrible period of post-partum depression for a whole year after having my son. It lasted a whole year and I thought it would never end. The thing is, people kept telling me to just snap out if it as though it were the easiest thing in the world. I am a strong woman who survived cancer at age 22 but I felt like people had alot more sympathy and understanding towards me when I had the cancer because they felt that this was beyond my control. In reality, post-partum is no easier to control than a physical illness. It is a true illness and it unfortuantely strikes at a time when a woman is already vulnerable due to the overwhelming new task of being a mother. It is important that people in her support network become educated about what post-partum depression and ensure that the sufferer gets help. I think the reason this is so underdiagnosed is partially due to the shame people associate with mental illness. You would not feel ashamed if you broke you leg so why should you feel ashamed about being depressed?

My sister in law and niece went through post partum depression after giving birth to their children. I don't think it was caused by hem wanting to suddenly be skinny again or if their husband would find them attractive still. I think it was more of a emotional issue of suddenly having the world on your shoulders and having to protect and care for a new baby and all the emotional roller coaster that comes with that. Being emotionally unbalanced is no fun. My sister in law had a C-Section and my niece a natural birth. It hits woman differently they can become overwhelmed with caring for a new baby and trying to also care for everything else going on in their lives.

I have three kids. I do not belive I have ever suffered from post partum depression. I have however suffered from depression for a bit from being shot in the leg and unable to walk right again. I do think my one sister who has had 6 kids and on a 7th has gone this. because I have heard make statments about wanting to hurt her kids when they were babies. She never has...but it has always scares me that she just might do it one day.

naw i fhe didnt like me after that was his fault and i had no trouble going back to my own size after for I was always active. Went sleigh riding with one of my kids and rode horses with my daughter just kept active while PG and active after. I saw a mom that would have nothing to do with her baby they lived with us at the time after she gave birth the dad did all the taking care of the baby . Nope she didnt cry or any thing she just didnt have any thing to do with the baby later they moved so I dont know what happened after that but I do think he divorced her later and kept the baby.

I have heard of this but do not personally know of anyone who has actually gone through it. I think there are quite a few mothers who deal with this though, whether they know it or not.

interesting topic.. over in this country, we take pregnancy, childbirth and post-natal care very, very seriously.. mostly to avoid the feared 'post-natal/post partum depression'. mothers who had just delivered a baby would be cared for as if she was a baby herself.. a lot of taboos and a very strict, controlled diet for at least 44 days.. just to ensure that our health is restored - physically + mentally.. even our labor laws allows 60 days paid-maternity-leave for the female workers. but speaking from my own experience, when my first baby was born.. i was 'very upset'.. originally i stayed with my mom for two weeks, then my husband insisted that i come home, which meant i will have no one to help me with the baby.. i really felt overwhelmed - i was still not in a good shape myself, and i was totally not prepared to take care of my first baby all by myself.. i was upset a lot.. and i probably threw tantrums and cried more than the baby did, and made my husband send me back to my mom's place until my confinement period (44 days) was over.. you could say that the womenfolk here are truly 'pampered', but.. after 9 months of pregnancy, hours of labour pain.. + the labour itself... 44 days of pure rest.. is really not sufficient.. plus the fact that after that 44 days.. you will probably not get another rest day until the child is fully grown-up.

I thank God I didn't experience this thing when I gave birth to my daughter.