It's Not Just Postpartum Depression

By Mara Acel-Green, LICSW A couple of years ago, a new mother I was treating told me, "I was prepared for postpartum depression, but no one said anything about postpartum anxiety." I think about her comment often, and I was reminded of it again recently when a new family visited me. The father said, "Someone briefly told us during our childbirth education class about postpartum depression. Since she [his wife] was taking excellent, even excessively good care of the baby, was going to work and was not crying, we didn't think she had a problem. "In contrast, the mother stated, "I was just worried, angry, and bossy and I felt like every little thing was overwhelming." I am struck again and again by how many families say they were not fully informed about the range of perinatal emotional complications that they may experience, even though these complications are known to be a common consequence of pregnancy. The typical brochure that I see about postpartum depression is often titled something like "Signs and Symptoms of Postpartum Depression." There may be a photo of a mom looking out a window with her baby nowhere in sight, or a mom crying with a baby over her shoulder. There is no mention of pregnant women (60 percent of depression starts before or during pregnancy), no mention of men (about 10 percent of dads experience perinatal depression) and no description of symptoms beyond those typically associated with depression. I see the lack of information about perinatal emot...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news