by Tina Cortez, LCPC, Therapist at UB Libertyville and Evanston Counseling Offices

In recent years there has been considerable work done to increase awareness about Postpartum Depression. Women are coming forward to discuss this heartbreaking disorder in higher numbers than ever before, and more than ever there are mental health professionals, as well as those who have suffered through Postpartum Depression, doing what they can to normalize and decrease the stigma associated with it.

Here are the common symptoms associated with Postpartum Depression:

• Depressed mood-tearfulness, hopelessness, and feeling empty inside, with or without severe anxiety.
• Loss of pleasure in either all or almost all daily activities.
• Appetite and weight change-usually a drop in appetite and weight, but sometimes the opposite.
• Sleep problems-usually trouble with sleeping, even when the baby is sleeping.
• Noticeable change in how you walk and talk-usually restlessness, but sometimes sluggishness.
• Extreme fatigue or loss of energy.
• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt, with no reasonable cause.
• Difficulty concentrating and making decisions.
• Thoughts about death or suicide. Some women with PPD have fleeting, frightening thoughts of harming their babies: these thoughts tend to be frightening images, rather than urges to harm.

This last symptom especially is one that women are not talking about enough. This symptom is often confused with the desire to harm the baby; women that are afraid that they will harm their children do NOT want to hurt anyone, but they are afraid that they will. They are terrified of what will happen to them if they admit to having fears of harming their children. They believe that at best, they will be judged and shamed, at worst they will have their babies taken away from them. This is especially true for women who find themselves with overwhelming anxiety being their primary symptom. Postpartum Depression is becoming more acceptable, but there has been very little discussion about Postpartum Anxiety. These terrified new mothers scour the internet for a description of Postpartum Depression that fits what they are experiencing, but find very little evidence that anyone has ever felt like they do. This lack of reassurance often reinforces the strongest fear they have: “I am all alone, nobody has ever felt this way before, I must be loosing my mind." 

What women experiencing these symptoms don’t know (because they are often too afraid to ask), is that many women have thoughts that scare them after they have a baby. These thoughts can range from general fears about something bad happening (such as the baby falling ill) to specific fears about harming the baby on purpose. In their book Dropping the Baby and other Scary Thoughts: Breaking the Cycle of Unwanted Thoughts in Motherhood, Karen Kleiman and Amy Wenzel candidly discuss the fears that mothers have about their babies and provide sorely needed normalization to this often horrifying experience.  They highlight the fact that these fears are an indication of anxiety, not a sign of intention to harm anyone. In fact, they explicitly state the following: “Women who are concerned about the scary thoughts they are having do not hurt their babies" (p.30).  Hopefully, this book is the first of many such volumes to address this very common, but well-hidden, postpartum issue.

For more information on Postpartum Depression and Postpartum Anxiety, please visit:

www.postpartumprogress.com

Postpartum Support International Website

 

UB has therapists who specialize in Postpartum and perinatal issues.  For more information, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 888-716-7170.