Postpartum Depression

You may have already heard of this but are not exactly sure what it is. Well Postpartum depression is an illness that can occur during the first few months after a woman gives birth. It can also happen to someone who lost a child due to miscarriage or stillborn. It basically makes you feel very sad, worthless and hopeless. You may have problems taking care of your little one and even have problems bonding with your baby. Some people confuse postpartum depression for the so called “baby blues” which is when you have trouble sleeping, you get moody, emotional and overwhelmed. The “baby blues” usually go away after the first few weeks while postpartum depression can last for months.

(Source: http://www.onelittlemister.com/2011/07/baby-blues-with-second-child.html)

 I actually thought that I was going through postpartum depression but I realized it was just the baby blues. I was feeling very overwhelmed which who doesn’t with their first baby and I was very emotional. I started to turn my sad emotions into anger and would take it out on my boyfriend any time he did something annoying to me that I could usually just brush off I would flip out. I soon realized that once I got used to the babies daily routine although, you don’t get used to waking up every three hours that things would get better. That is how I knew that I did not have postpartum depression because if I did I would not have been able to rationalize what was going on and the feelings would have lasted much longer.

(Source: http://www.healblog.net/elder-primiparas-at-less-risk-for-post-partum-depression/)

So we have the “baby blues” which are normal and happen to almost every new mommy. Then we have postpartum depression that occurs with 80% of new mommies. But there is one more that is very rare but can occur which is postpartum psychosis. This is when a woman may start acting really weird, they may start seeing and hearing things that are not really there. This can be dangerous for the baby and for herself. It is very crucial that if you feel that you are dealing with postpartum depression or postpartum psychosis that you seek help immediately. The sooner you get help the better you will feel and the sooner you will get to enjoy spending time with your little one because believe me time will fly so you want to enjoy them while they are still tiny. J