Raising Awareness for Postpartum Depression

Raising Awareness for Postpartum Depression

By: Megan Starr

The inspiration for this project comes from the recent news article about a woman, who suffered from postpartum depression, killing her 8 week old baby before killing herself. 

Research

Real life account of a family in Long Beach who was affected by Postpartum Depression (Retrieved from ABC News)

• A man whose wife killed their newborn son before killing herself said he will be raising awareness for postpartum because he won't "let Charlene and Shane go in vain, so I'm going to spread awareness. [He feels] like [he has] this new mission in [his] life to spread hope." (abc)
• he wears "his wife's wedding rings around his neck...he never imagined this could have happened to the woman who dreamed of being a mother." (abc)

(http://abc7.com/news/man-seeks-to-raise-awareness-after-wife-kills-infant-herself/1564507/)

Retrieved from Mayo Clinic:

• Definition: "Many new moms experience the "postpartum baby blues" after childbirth, which commonly include mood swings, crying spells, anxiety and difficulty sleeping. Baby Blues typically begin within the first two to three days after delivery, and may last for up to two weeks. But some new moms experience a more severe, long-lasting form of depression known as postpartum depression." (Mayo Clinic)
• "Post Partum depression isn't a character flaw or a weakness. Sometimes it's simply a complication of giving birth." (Mayo Clinic)

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/postpartum-depression/basics/definition/con-20029130

Retrieved from Postpartum Progress:

• Postpartum depression affects 11-20% of women a year
• There are more cases of Postpartum every year than new cases (in men and women) than tuberculosis, leukemia, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimers Disease, lupus and epilepsy.
• 600,000 women are affected yearly, however, that does not include miscarriages. If they were considered it would be 900,000 women affected. 
• All of these statistics are based on self report, so that is not an accurate number/insight to the severity of this issue. Since there is a lot of shame surrounding Postpartum, many woman choose to not report.
• Women who are not treated effectively will turn to drugs and alcohol instead of receiving proper treatment
• "Postpartum is the most common complication of childbirth, putting American families at risk each and every year."

Symptoms:

• You feel overwhelmed. Not like “hey, this new mom thing is hard.” More like “I can’t do this and I’m never going to be able to do this.” You feel like you just can’t handle being a mother. In fact, you may be wondering whether you should have become a mother in the first place.
• You feel guilty because you believe you should be handling new motherhood better than this. You feel like your baby deserves better. You worry whether your baby can tell that you feel so bad, or that you are crying so much, or that you don’t feel the happiness or connection that you thought you would. You may wonder whether your baby would be better off without you.
• You don’t feel bonded to your baby. You’re not having that mythical mommy bliss that you see on TV or read about in magazines. Not everyone with postpartum depression feels this way, but many do.
• You can’t understand why this is happening. You are very confused and scared.
• You feel irritated or angry. You have no patience. Everything annoys you. You feel resentment toward your baby, or your partner, or your friends who don’t have babies. You feel out-of-control rage.
• You feel nothing. Emptiness and numbness. You are just going through the motions.
• You feel sadness to the depths of your soul. You can’t stop crying, even when there’s no real reason to be crying.
• You feel hopeless, like this situation will never ever get better. You feel weak and defective, like a failure.
• You can’t bring yourself to eat, or perhaps the only thing that makes you feel better is eating.
• You can’t sleep when the baby sleeps, nor can you sleep at any other time. Or maybe you can fall asleep, but you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t go back to sleep no matter how tired you are. Or maybe all you can do is sleep and you can’t seem to stay awake to get the most basic things done. Whichever it is, your sleeping is completely screwed up and it’s not just because you have a newborn.
• You can’t concentrate. You can’t focus. You can’t think of the words you want to say. You can’t remember what you were supposed to do. You can’t make a decision. You feel like you’re in a fog.
• You feel disconnected. You feel strangely apart from everyone for some reason, like there’s an invisible wall between you and the rest of the world.
• Maybe you’re doing everything right. You are exercising. You are taking your vitamins. You have a healthy spirituality. You do yoga. You’re thinking “Why can’t I just get over this?” You feel like you should be able to snap out of it, but you can’t.
• You might be having thoughts of running away and leaving your family behind. Or you’ve thought of driving off the road, or taking too many pills, or finding some other way to end this misery.
• You know something is wrong. You may not know you have a perinatal mood or anxiety disorder, but you know the way you are feeling is NOT right. You think you’ve “gone crazy.”
• You are afraid that this is your new reality and that you’ve lost the “old you” forever.
• You are afraid that if you reach out for help people will judge you. Or that your baby will be taken away

(http://postpartumprogress.org/the-facts-about-postpartum-depression/)

PERSONAL

Becoming and being a single mother was not easy, but it wasn't made any easier by having Postpartum depression. I have struggled with depression my whole life and I went to therapy for most of my high school career. Depression was something I always had in me but I learned how to manage it and combat it. The wet blanket that felt always present on my brain started to lighten and lift away. I knew when i felt myself slipping back under depressions weight and knew how to get help, or at least ask for help.

Once I found out I was pregnant, I felt myself slipping back into that depressed state; however, this time was extremely different than before. This was hormone induced. Not only was my body against my happiness, but being a single mother meant society's pressures and scrutiny on me as well. The comments that I had received varied from happy and encouraging, to comments about how I was ruining mine, and my child's life. I felt trapped in a body, that would normally know how to combat those comments, instead it was sucking me into those depressed and suicidal thought I used to have.

Luckily, I have a very supportive family that were there to help me get the help I needed. I wouldn't be here today without them. That is why the issue of postpartum depression is so important to me. I want to tackle this issue because of the families who don't get that help and can't find their way out of depressions tangled web. Especially after the most recent case in Long Beach mentioned above, I feel deeply connected to this issue. These tragedies are happening everywhere, and it is up to us to stand up and find help for the women who cannot. 

MEMBERS IN THE COMMUNITY ALSO AFFECTED BY THIS: