Post-Partum Depression

[ajharper]

Hi there,

Does anyone have any tools for overcoming post-partum depression? Besides drugs, that is. Not that I'm against them, I just want to investigate other options first...

[tigerconserve]

I guess I would have to ask how severe the depression and how long it has lasted?

If the mother is unable to sleep (when the baby allows her), eat or relate to her baby. If she is unable to do these basic things for more than two or three weeks, then she really must get professional help.

On the other hand, baby blues or feeling a little weepy for a few days or a week after the birth is pretty typical especially for a first time mom.

I'll never forget how scared and overwhelmed I felt bringing home my first born for the first time. But the feelings went away over time and I was still able to eat, sleep and relate to the baby.

Hope that answers your question.

[elantra]

Yah, I'll second that,
you really need to find out how severe the conditions are before we can give you sound advices, based on experience from other friends, it's a normal thing, and usually will go away by itself after say averagely two weeks or so, but if it gets out of hands, do consult the professionals, seek help when necessary, usually, this is caused by your own feelings and emotions, becoz there's a new born baby in the house, people tend to get worried very easily, without even realizing it

hope you're doing fine so far :)

[jesstwnpr]

Sometimes it's hard to wait it out because life with a newborn is pretty crazy. I think I felt like I was depressed for such a long time when in reality it was only a few weeks.

Having people around you to help you get through it is one of the best remedies I've found. Especially if you can get into a support group for new moms and find others that know exaclty how you're feeling. It always helps to know that someone else in the world is also struggling to get the hectic new mom life in tact.

[lilibet]

I have to agree with the other replies in that it depends a lot on the severity. Personally speaking, with my first child I had a mild for of PP depression and found that having friends and family around as support helped a lot. Also make sure you're eating well, taking a daily multi-vitamin and get rest whenever you can, which I know is tough to do.
With my second child I had a more severe depression and needed an anti-depressant but only for a month, it helped a lot. But again, being out as much as possible with friends and getting support from family is a great way to relieve the depression. Another thing I recommend is avoiding caffeine if you're not already doing so. Caffeine can make you feel more stressed which could end up increasing the feelings of depression.

[ivanalaff]

All very good replies. I would like to note that PPD has a tendency to become worse with each pregnancy especially if they are close together.