Karen’s story:

Having had two children and the usual emotional upheavals that go with the early postpartum weeks, I expected to ride smoothly through my third postpartum period. Experts call these ‘up and down’ feelings the ‘postpartum adjustment period’ and the baby books call it ‘the baby blues’. The ‘blues’ are considered normal. They are generally brief and usually disappear on their own after a short time.

I was shocked to find myself cruising with the alien who made me feel so foggy. I was in denial and I was angry. Those precious months when a mother should enjoy her young baby's life--all those sweet moments--were shrouded in mist. No one even knew I was unwell. My condition felt inappropriate and I felt weak. I kept my secret. I shared it with no one. I didn't know I was suffering from more than the normal ‘baby blues’.

Eventually, frustrated with my condition, I sought help from a therapist. She did not diagnose me with PPD. Putting a name to what I was experiencing would have helped me to understand my condition. As a childbirth educator and pre/postnatal fitness instructor I am well-connected and well-educated in the childbirthing field. It was surprising to me that I was allowed to go undiagnosed and minimally treated. I walked around for months in a thick fog and pretended everything was fine when it clearly was not.

Thirteen years ago no one gave a name to what Karen was feeling. Today, postpartum depression is recognized as a condition affecting, in varying degrees, between 10-20 percent of new mothers.

When a postpartum mother suffers with any of the following symptoms she may be experiencing PPD:

• continuing feelings of sadness, anger, guilt, nervousness, worry, helplessness, hopelessness, inadequacy
• crying for no apparent reason
• experiencing panic
• having difficulty sleeping or relaxing
• withdrawing from other people
• becoming easily frustrated or enraged
• worrying excessively about her health or the baby’s health

Conditions that put a woman at higher risk:

• earlier postpartum depression
• history of emotional problems or depression
• a difficult delivery or high-need baby
• isolation or inadequate social support
• recent major stress
• an non-supportive partner, no partner or relationship difficulties
• low family income
• difficulty asking for help
• grief over loss of freedom, career or spontaneity

A postpartum woman may experience some or all of these factors and not suffer from postpartum depression. A new mother may experience none of these factors and still suffer the debilitating effects of postpartum depression.

Depression is an illness. Rest, support of family and friends, and psychotherapy (the opportunity for a new mother to express her feelings) are the primary ways of coping with this illness. There is almost 100% recovery for women who seek help.

Postpartum Adjustment Support Services - Canada (PASS-CAN), no longer in existence, suggested that women who are suffering with PPD or ‘the baby blues’ implement the following helpful hints into their daily lives for the first six weeks sleep when baby sleeps:

• do something relaxing every day for yourself
• eat a well-balanced diet
• take “time away” from your baby: take a bath, go for a walk/exercise, meet a friend,
  
• go to a movie, have a meal out, , etc.
• say to yourself: “this too shall pass”, “don’t sweat the small stuff!”, and “how important will this be in a week, a month or in a year”
• talk to a supportive person
• avoid or limit the time spent with people who make you anxious
• cherish the good feelings and try to ‘accept’ the painful feelings
• ask for help

Karen’s story:

What finally brought me out of postpartum depression was a commitment to continue teaching pregnancy and new mother and baby fitness classes. I was able to benefit from the exercises, the group support and the discussions about the challenges of the early postpartum period.

Exercise is one of the best antidotes to depression because it has a direct bearing on mood. Any sort of movement that engages the larger skeletal-muscular system increases energy. It also elevates endorphens and two other adrenaline-like hormones, norepinephrine and serotonin, which play an important part in boosting mood.

According to James F. Clapp III, a researcher in the area of pre- and postnatal exercise, when women exercise after the birth of their baby they report “a more rapid physical and emotional recovery. The incidence of significant postpartum depression is also low.”

Joining a specially designed postpartum fitness program 4-6 weeks following the birth will increase the new mother’s activity level, strengthen her body, improve muscle tone, encourage weight loss and give her a sense of overall well-being. A mother and baby fitness program often provides a new mother with an environment which is conducive to building confidence in parenting skills, provides an opportunity to share experience, acquire new information, debate ideas and build strong bonds with the other participants.

There is no question that childbearing falls under the category of a stressful life cycle event. Even though having a baby is generally a positive experience for most people, the event does initiate something new and unknown which challenges the body systems in unexpected ways. Like other life cycle events (marriage, death of a loved one, retirement, moving, etc.) childbearing causes changes to occur in a woman’s normal routines and patterns. During the childbearing year sleeping, eating, leisure and sexual patterns are altered.

It is well recognized that when a person experiences a stressful life cycle event she (or he) is at greater risk of becoming ill and exhibiting physical ailments. Recurrent infections (gastrointestinal, bronchial, sinus), herpes outbreaks, back problems are examples of physical ways the body breaks down under stress. For a substantial group of the population the breakdown will be mental or psychological rather than physical in nature. These people will become ill with depression or anxiety, both conditions coming under the diagnosis of PPD.

General society has a certain comfort level regarding physical illness. People know how to respond when a family member or friend is experiencing a bad cold or a strained back. They know how to suggest echinacea, orange juice or the name of a chiropractor. When faced with a family member or friend who is experiencing panic attacks, fatigue or lethargy people often don't know what to do or how to respond. There is stigma associated with mental illness.

In recent years the issue of postpartum depression has begun to receive more media attention. Marie Osmond brought the issue front and centre when she appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and shared her postpartum depression experience which followed the birth of her last child.

By bringing this illness out from the shadows more PPD women will receive timely and better treatment, and compassion and support for the challenges of the postpartum period.

Parent Help Line (1 888 603-9100) a 24-hour, toll free , trans Canada telephone hotline offers information and counselling services.