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More on Postpartum Depression
Just Not Feeling Yourself
By Karen Kleiman, MSW
Julie couldn't figure out why she felt so badly. Her baby was born three months ago, beautiful and healthy. Her delivery was uneventful and she and her husband, David had been looking forward to this time for months. Everything seemed to be going perfectly.
But something was wrong. Julie wasn't able to put her finger on it, but she just didn't feel right. She felt uneasy, nervous and just not like her self. She noticed that she cried often and easily, at the silliest things. David told her that he was getting tired of her being so irritable and negative all the time. "Great," she said sarcastically, "Thanks for your support."
As the tension between the two of them increased, Julie continued to feel more out of control. She was troubled by constant worries about her baby and didn't seem able to get these thoughts out of her mind. She started waking in the middle of the night and not being able to go back to sleep. "This isn't like me at all," she said to her friend, "I feel like I'm going crazy."
| Many women have heard of postpartum depression (PPD). Studies show that up to 30 percent of all new mothers experience clinical depression and/or anxiety after childbirth. Like Julie, some think it is a state of craziness that they see exaggerated and sensationalized by the media. Others think it is a condition that only affects women who did not want their babies, or women who are not good mothers, or women who are weak. Still others, indeed most women, believe it is something that only happens to somebody else. |
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