What it is
Postpartum depression, or PPD, is when the low days do not lift. Mothers describe it as feeling numb, as 'I don't feel like myself,' or as 'I can't bond with the baby.' Some feel sad. Many feel nothing at all, or angry, or like a failure.
It is common. ACOG says about 1 in 7 mothers get PPD. It can start in pregnancy, right after birth, or any time in the first year. Hormone shifts, no sleep, a hard birth, past depression, and little support all raise the odds. None of it is your fault.
PPD is not the baby blues. The blues come in waves and pass within two weeks. PPD stays. It is also not a weakness. It is a health condition with good treatments, and most mothers get well.
What's typical
PPD often shows up between two weeks and three months after birth, but it can come later. Signs last most of the day, most days, for more than two weeks. Common ones: no joy in things you used to like, crying a lot or not at all, sleeping badly even when the baby sleeps, eating much more or less, guilt, and pulling away from people. Without help it can last months. With help, many mothers feel a shift within weeks.
What's known
Providers screen for PPD with a short set of questions called the Edinburgh scale. ACOG and the AAP ask for screening in pregnancy, at the postpartum visit, and at well-baby checks. Talk therapy and medication both work, alone or together. Studies find therapy that works on your thoughts or your relationships helps most mothers. Many cultures hold the first forty days as a time to be cared for, not to cope alone.
What helps
- Tell one person the truth about how you feel. Partner, friend, your mother, the nurse. Out loud.
- Protect one four-hour stretch of sleep. Someone else takes the baby, with a bottle if needed.
- Eat real food on a schedule, even when you don't care. Your brain runs on it.
- Call the PSI HelpLine or the Maternal Mental Health Hotline just to talk. That is what they are for.
- Lower every bar you can. The house, the visitors, the thank-you notes.
When to call someone
- Nowany thought of ending your life or hurting yourself or the baby. Call or text 988, or call 911.
- Nownot sleeping for days, confusion, or seeing or hearing things others do not.
- Todayyou cannot care for yourself or the baby, cannot eat, or feel hopeless most of the day.
- Todayyour low mood is past two weeks and not lifting. Call your provider or the Maternal Mental Health Hotline, 1-833-852-6262.
- At your next visityou are getting by but not yourself. Ask to be screened and to talk about options.
Who helps
Tools: Birthworker Directory · My Birth Team
Related
- Baby blues: the first two weeksPostpartum: Mind
- Postpartum anxietyPostpartum: Mind
- Therapy and medication after birth: what the options arePostpartum: Mind
- When to get help, and who to call tonightPostpartum: Mind
- Support groups and peer supportPostpartum: Mind
- Sleep deprivation: what it does and how to survive itPostpartum: Your Body
- Grieving while postpartumPostpartum: Mind
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Sources
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists — Postpartum depression FAQ
- Postpartum Support International — Depression during pregnancy and postpartum
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — Depression among women
- National Institute of Mental Health — Perinatal depression brochure
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