Postpartum Depression: Not Just the "Baby Blues"
In the first days after childbirth, about 8 out of 10 women will experience mood swings or mild
depression, often called the "baby blues." It is considered normal for women to feel the baby blues for about 3 to 10 days after childbirth. These feelings usually go away in a week or two, and don't need to be treated.
Symptoms of Postpartum Depression
If your "baby blues" last longer than two weeks, or are more severe than simple mood swings or mild depression, you may have postpartum depression. After giving birth, about 10 to 15 out of 100 women experience postpartum depression. Women with this condition commonly experience some of these
postpartum depression symptoms:
- Strong feelings of depression, anger, doubt, guilt, or helplessness that seem to get worse over time
- An inability to care for themselves or their baby
- Change in appetite
- Anxiety or panic attacks
- Being intensely worried or concerned about the baby
- Having little or no interest in the baby
- Thoughts of suicide.
Causes of Postpartum Depression
There are many causes of postpartum depression.
Some of the feelings that are common with postpartum depression can be caused by:
- Hormonal changes
- Anxiety about taking care of a new baby
- Exhaustion from labor and lack of sleep
- Feeling overwhelmed with life's circumstances
- Having little or no help during the first few days after giving birth
- An emotional let-down following the experience of childbirth
- Previous mental illness or depression.
If you have previously been treated for depression, or have experienced postpartum depression before, you are at higher risk for developing postpartum depression.
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