Women may struggle, seek help for depression after childbirth
by Stephany Rocha
Major Depressive Disorder with Postpartum Onset, or more commonly known, as Postpartum Depression Disorder (PPD) is commonly found in women after giving birth. Many woman feel ashamed to discuss it, in fear of being labeled as a “bad” mom. They feel ashamed in not meeting the standards for the perfect mother portrayed by the media.
Of women who are in their childbearing years, 15 to 20 percent can be diagnosed with postpartum disorder.
Some contributing factors for PPD are women not receiving enough support, husbands not sharing care for children or sleep deprivation. These factors can make a woman more receptive to PPD.
Women who had either depression or anxiety when they were a teenager, or later as an adult, are at a higher risk of suffering from PPD.
“That is the hard part because, sometimes physicians are going to say, Well I don’t know about what is safe with taking medication because you are pregnant,” retired nurse practitioner Carole Sheehan said. “Unfortunately, sometimes with women who are very vulnerable to depression or anxiety might get worse.”
Six weeks after giving birth is when a mother typically gets back to “normal,” such as, transitioning back to daily routines and going back to work. Often no one looks after the mother during that time period; it’s when women can become stressed and start to have symptoms of PDD.
“A woman can technically have postpartum depression for several years after childbirth,” psychiatric nurse practitioner Valerie Kading said.
Sheehan had postpartum depression, but never knew she had PPD, it was until she became a nurse at St. Joseph’s Hospital, where she discovered she suffered from PPD. St. Joseph’s Hospital, was also where she dealt with many patients including women who had postpartum disorder.
Sheehan was the first person to create a support group in Arizona at St. Joseph’s Hospital for mothers to help them talk about what they went through. The moms influenced other hospitals in Arizona to start their own support groups and help each other out.
Sarah Barrett, mother of three, and Mrs. Arizona, will be competing for Mrs. America in Las Vegas in Aug.,where she will be using PPD as her platform. Four years after the birth of her third child, Barrett was diagnosed with PPD. His birth was traumatic because her son was born four weeks earlier than expected and had to be incubated in an neonatal intensive care unit.
Some symptoms she experienced were tearfulness, withdrawal from loved ones, anxiety when leaving the home, gloomy feelings most of the time and not wanting to be involved.
“I didn’t realize I had it for four years and actually had medical professionals ask me, ‘Do you think you have postpartum depression?’ and I told them ‘No’ right away because I didn’t want the label of having postpartum depression,” Barrett said.
PPD does not only have to do with depression; anxiety can also be triggered after giving birth. Women may feel anxious or worried, or like she is not doing enough.
Maveny Marin, a family support worker at Jewish Family and Children's Services of Southern Arizona, is another mom who experienced postpartum disorder when she had her twin boys. Marin’s postpartum disorder was more anxiety than depression. She feared leaving her home because the babies might have been harmed. Her experience led her to get training and work help groups, along with other moms, to provide support for each other.
When Marin’s twin boys were born, they were admitted to the NICU, it was a very traumatic experience for her especially with her husband gone.
“I didn’t really understand what was happening with me at the time so I didn’t get help until they were about a year old,” Marin said.
Every mother with PPD has had unique experiences. They may have the same diagnosis, but can experience PPD at varied levels, some not as severe as others.
Valerie Kading, a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Sierra Tucson’s Nursing team, enjoys helping patients with mental health concerns and guides them to wellness. She educates people on PPD, emphasizing that there are women who feel depressed when they give birth and the experience are not like in the movies.
“When we diagnose patients with postpartum depression, we use a guide or a book, a manual called the DSM-5, and that will give us the criteria for diagnosis,” Kading said.
DSM-5 stands for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition. This medical book helps physicians review the patients symptoms and narrow down the diagnosis.
When anyone turns on the television, they do not typically see mothers as depressed. Rather not cheerful, not breaking a sweat. According to Barrett, Marin and Kading, that is not an accurate description of motherhood.
“Media portrayal is based on myths, just like many other false narratives about women,” Sheehan said. “I think it's a long-standing perception that women are happy to be pregnant and have children; they aspired to that, and therefore the media portrayal is of the happy smiling mom who is looking well cared for and rested, along with her perfect baby.”
Of women who are in their childbearing years, 15 to 20 percent can be diagnosed with postpartum disorder.
Some contributing factors for PPD are women not receiving enough support, husbands not sharing care for children or sleep deprivation. These factors can make a woman more receptive to PPD.
Women who had either depression or anxiety when they were a teenager, or later as an adult, are at a higher risk of suffering from PPD.
“That is the hard part because, sometimes physicians are going to say, Well I don’t know about what is safe with taking medication because you are pregnant,” retired nurse practitioner Carole Sheehan said. “Unfortunately, sometimes with women who are very vulnerable to depression or anxiety might get worse.”
Six weeks after giving birth is when a mother typically gets back to “normal,” such as, transitioning back to daily routines and going back to work. Often no one looks after the mother during that time period; it’s when women can become stressed and start to have symptoms of PDD.
“A woman can technically have postpartum depression for several years after childbirth,” psychiatric nurse practitioner Valerie Kading said.
Sheehan had postpartum depression, but never knew she had PPD, it was until she became a nurse at St. Joseph’s Hospital, where she discovered she suffered from PPD. St. Joseph’s Hospital, was also where she dealt with many patients including women who had postpartum disorder.
Sheehan was the first person to create a support group in Arizona at St. Joseph’s Hospital for mothers to help them talk about what they went through. The moms influenced other hospitals in Arizona to start their own support groups and help each other out.
Sarah Barrett, mother of three, and Mrs. Arizona, will be competing for Mrs. America in Las Vegas in Aug.,where she will be using PPD as her platform. Four years after the birth of her third child, Barrett was diagnosed with PPD. His birth was traumatic because her son was born four weeks earlier than expected and had to be incubated in an neonatal intensive care unit.
Some symptoms she experienced were tearfulness, withdrawal from loved ones, anxiety when leaving the home, gloomy feelings most of the time and not wanting to be involved.
“I didn’t realize I had it for four years and actually had medical professionals ask me, ‘Do you think you have postpartum depression?’ and I told them ‘No’ right away because I didn’t want the label of having postpartum depression,” Barrett said.
PPD does not only have to do with depression; anxiety can also be triggered after giving birth. Women may feel anxious or worried, or like she is not doing enough.
Maveny Marin, a family support worker at Jewish Family and Children's Services of Southern Arizona, is another mom who experienced postpartum disorder when she had her twin boys. Marin’s postpartum disorder was more anxiety than depression. She feared leaving her home because the babies might have been harmed. Her experience led her to get training and work help groups, along with other moms, to provide support for each other.
When Marin’s twin boys were born, they were admitted to the NICU, it was a very traumatic experience for her especially with her husband gone.
“I didn’t really understand what was happening with me at the time so I didn’t get help until they were about a year old,” Marin said.
Every mother with PPD has had unique experiences. They may have the same diagnosis, but can experience PPD at varied levels, some not as severe as others.
Valerie Kading, a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Sierra Tucson’s Nursing team, enjoys helping patients with mental health concerns and guides them to wellness. She educates people on PPD, emphasizing that there are women who feel depressed when they give birth and the experience are not like in the movies.
“When we diagnose patients with postpartum depression, we use a guide or a book, a manual called the DSM-5, and that will give us the criteria for diagnosis,” Kading said.
DSM-5 stands for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition. This medical book helps physicians review the patients symptoms and narrow down the diagnosis.
When anyone turns on the television, they do not typically see mothers as depressed. Rather not cheerful, not breaking a sweat. According to Barrett, Marin and Kading, that is not an accurate description of motherhood.
“Media portrayal is based on myths, just like many other false narratives about women,” Sheehan said. “I think it's a long-standing perception that women are happy to be pregnant and have children; they aspired to that, and therefore the media portrayal is of the happy smiling mom who is looking well cared for and rested, along with her perfect baby.”