Has anyone suffered from this here or someone you know, perhaps? What can be the signs and symptoms? I have looked online and read some articles but it would be nice to hear from someone personally (i dont mean its nice someone went through it).
Yes yes.. I know someone who suffered from this. It was very very very Very extreme. She just lost all her senses. She gave birth to a beautiful child (my cousin) but i think the depression was so severe, she ran away from her house. Was found.. she suffered from fits where she needed extreme treatment too. My cousin now is 20.. but her mom still suffers from the depression. She goes to extremes of doing a task.. Like she cooks for hours and hours and hours.. or studies for day and night.. She has no control over certain things.. This lady's husband stood with her with all the difficulties.. They were seperated for years because no one could handle her illness so her mom asked the son in law to let her daughter live with her. Her refused to leave his wife and said he'll do anything to fix her illness.
My aunt adopted the kid .. raised her and now my cousin is studying to become a doc.
Its so scary!
Well this is the extreme end but minor depression happens like you feel tired and out of control that house is not clean or etc.But calm yourself down, just look around their are lot people helping and caring.And above all just rest .
the key is to get plenty of sleep..sleep deprivation is one of the reasons for depression, when your baby sleeps, you need to get a power nap, forget about the housework, because housework is never ending, let the house go unkept for a while, concentrate on yourself.
also see if you can get some help, ask someone to look after baby for a few hours, go into a separate room so you cant see or hear the baby, you need your space.
Re: Postpartum depression
i suffered from ppd very soon after i gave birth... for i would say.. a month... it started off cuz he wouldnt breastfeed.. then he got infection and we had to stay in the hospital for aweek.. we got home and he just wouldnt sleep.. sleep deprivation is the number one reason why women get ppd.. i wanted to leave him and not be around him...husband and i would go out for 30 mins each day cuz i didnt even want to be in the same place as him so i couldnt hear him nor see him... it sounds awful but thats how it was...
it just seemed like all i was doing was feeding him.. and the child NEVER slept.. they say newborns sleep.. mine didnt.. for various reasons.. it was awful.. it got better when he got treated for gas and reflux.. started to sleep better.. i also got the hang of being a parent.. got loads of help from in laws and my own mom and husband..
but thats the one thing i remember.. not wanting to hear him at all... the very sound of his cry would throw me in even more depression and i dont know why.. but god i was scared of his crying... hard to explain ..
Re: Postpartum depression
how do you recognize this depression ....any tips.... a relative of my hubby's had a baby .... she just can't seem to get herself back to her normal self.... how do we identify if it is physical fatigue or mental depression that is affecting her...
but thats the one thing i remember.. not wanting to hear him at all... the very sound of his cry would throw me in even more depression and i dont know why.. but god i was scared of his crying... hard to explain ..
i totally understand, i went through the same, everytime he cried i wanted to run away, but he had reflux which i did not understand, i just thought he hated me and that i was a bad mother.
i eventually told my family they really helped me out, constantly phoned me and just turned up to comfort me, i refused to take antidepressants, if i did i would have to stop breastfeeding...when i eventually got some sleep and understood my baby was in pain, it got better, but it did take some time.
i also stopped my cleaning regime, all timetables and routines were thrown out of the window, i realised that i was expecting too much from myself and that i could not manage the house like i did with a 3 year old and a newborn...
Re: Postpartum depression
ya.. and that is the number 2 reason for ppd... women how have a house to run and a baby to handle.. throw in a sick baby and u have a woman ready to commit suicide or toss her baby outta the window.
i would get irritated at him for just not co operating cuz i would think bout all the dishes i had to clean the laundry to hang out the clothes to iron and the food to make
like you.. when i decided ok baby comes first.. it became a bit better...
women just make it worse by expecting way too much from themselves even though those around them dont care if the dishes are done etc... the need to be a superwoman is just great.
or maybe they just dont want to get used to the new routine of having another livin being relying on them ... they want to make the baby revolve around their old routine and not hte other way around...
atleast thats how it was for me.
Re: Postpartum depression
Ira - I had some baby blues. I think was hormonal. I use to cry on everything - tears of joy, tears of fear, tears of anxiety. Every little thing use to make me cry.
I am a pretty positive person but I started to hate everything about my life. It was hard 3 months for the hubby because I wasn't happy with anything and thought he did everything wrong. poor guy.
The hormones leveled out so I went back to being a normal person.
Re: Postpartum depression
I just read about a tv personality here who had psychosis due to ppd.
She had the feeling that she didn't produce enough milk to feed her baby and was convinced that she was starving her.
So sad :-(
Re: Postpartum depression
PPD is an extreme where the baby's and mom's safety comes into question.I am not saying it doesn't exist,it very well does,and I wish and pray no one ever has to go through it.
During my last visit to my OB she asked a few questions and in her opinion I might develop some kinda lows after delivery.
According to her the few risk factors were lack of close family and friends who can be there especially when the baby is born,the history of terrible mood swings in the first trimester,the stress of the adjustments which will be required in our household and life styles after about 7 years of marriage and being so used-to to doing things our way and then a few other personal and family issues and events which I would rather not mention here,and which hopefully will not coincide with the arrival of the baby in a few weeks time...Inshallah.
My hormonal tendencies and mood swings were unexpected for me because I kinda believed that I will be able to cope with it in a better way.Now I am truly scared of postpartum blues and its spectrum,I have sleepless nights and nights where I just cant stop crying for reasons even I don't know.
I just hope it goes away pretty soon and does not develop into anything major.Inshallah.
:)
i second...sleeping deprivation and expecting from yourself that you would be able to do chores like you used to do before leads to ppd...i have a 2 month old and i am exclusively breast feeding him...there are days when all of a sudden he demands feeding every half hourly and becomes fussy...my inlaws started saying your milk is not enough for the baby, give him formula milk....that was so depressing..i cried and cried and cried...thinking i am not a good mother..not even able to nurse him properly....then i found out this is pretty normal..these are called growth spurts..usually occur at 3, 4, and 6 wks...there is rapid physical development and due to which baby demands feeding 24 hrs..exhausting but essential....another reason of my depression was my c-section..he was born 2 wks before due date...i wanted to keep him 2 wks more in my uterus..because i used to think there will be some fat deposition,,,,,some more neuronal connections will develop..nature will give him final touches..and i felt guilty of taking him out before date...plus absolutely normal pregnancy,,,,,cephalic presentation,,,head already engaged,,,,,,ended in section...and that too in general anesthesia...throughout my pregnancy i always thought i will hav a normal delivery and i will be the first one to listen my baby's first cry and hold him...but that didnt happen...these things were not important for the people around me and they couldnot understand why am i crying..but being the mother for the first time..they were important to me....it was a difficult time!!!
i another reason of my depression was my c-section..he was born 2 wks before due date...i wanted to keep him 2 wks more in my uterus..because i used to think there will be some fat deposition,,,,,some more neuronal connections will develop..nature will give him final touches..and i felt guilty of taking him out before date...
you got depressed bcuz ur baby came into this world 2 weeks early. my baby came into this world 10 weeks early just imagine how i would have felt. I too used to feel guilty for not keeping my baby for full term, i felt that my baby was deprived of the time she had the right to spend in mother's womb i felt that Allah has done injustice to my daughter bcuz most of the babies are born at full term. btw i also had a c section.
i hope my story will make you feel better
i hope my story will make you feel better
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yeah...thanks alot..i dont want anyone to experience what i did but knowing that its normal definitely helps... Thanks diamond!!
Re: Postpartum depression
Thank you for your stories ladies. I saw my midwife last week and she recommended i take st john's wort, join a support group and work on my diet and exercise. I didnt want to take antidepressants so this is what we are going to try first.
Re: Postpartum depression
what is triggering it for you ira?
Re: Postpartum depression
khawa, i am just getting overwhelmed easily and even if its an easy task such as cleaning the kitchen, i feel like i dont know where to start. I just feel its really hard for me to juggle a baby, school (which i love doing), and a husband while keeping the house immaculate.
Re: Postpartum depression
^sorry to find out! I was reading about PPD a couple of weeks back and I read that symptoms start DURING pregnancy....generally, the women who get it feel depressed while pregnant and that's a good time to start to treat the condition otherwise it turns into PPD!
Re: Postpartum depression
^ I dont understand that.....i mean how much is "hormones" going crazy on you vs something to REALLY be bothered about???
Re: Postpartum depression
^There's a difference between temporary mood swings due to changes in hormones and being really depressed especially about pregnancy issues/baby/etc....That's what I read. Ofcourse I'm not a doc so I don't know how true it is.