Throughout pregnancy and postpartum many women hear messages from well-meaning friends, family, and strangers regarding how they “should” look and feel. A pregnant woman “should” glow with happiness, “should” feel joy and excitement, and “should” begin nesting and developing maternal feelings and bonds towards her unborn and newborn child. For many women, their pregnancy and the postpartum period looks and feels very different. In fact, approximately 11-20% of all women experience an onset of Depression following the birth of their child. This statistic does not take into account the many women who experience depression after the loss of a child (miscarriage or stillborn) or the significant number of women who likely do not report depressive symptoms due to shame or fear that they will be considered an unsafe or unfit parent. In recent years, several celebrities and women in positions of influence have come forward to disclose their own personal struggles with Postpartum Depression and have begun to lift the veil of shame on this disorder. Even with increased awareness in the community and the health care field, and effective therapy to treat Depression, only 15% of women who experience postpartum depression seek and receive help in the form of therapy or psychiatric care. Continue reading
