Postpartum depression is a very serious situation. There is no proven reason for Postpartum Depression (PPD). Women sometimes feel extremely stressed after having a baby. Mood swings are out of control, one minute your fine the next minute you feel overwhelmed and cry for no reason at all, have a loss of sleep or too much sleep, are not eating a proper diet, you lack interest in your partner and feel socially disconnected. Our clinical team is here to help you get better.
Only a minority of women get professional treatment for postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety/OCD and other perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. One study puts the number at just 15%. This means that hundreds of thousands of women every single year are white knuckling it, hoping that their misery will eventually slink away on its own.
Why do they do this? Because no one has ever told them what the consequences are of ignoring PPD, or even that there are consequences. And also, because there’s still this belief that mothers should sacrifice themselves for their children. They shouldn’t need any help, and should devote their every waking second to their babies without even a thought for themselves.
The two primary objectives of Postpartum Progress is to increase the number of women who recognize they have a perinatal mood or anxiety disorder and to increase the number of women who get professional help for those illnesses. It’s crucial to get help. There are two major reasons why.
The first is because untreated PPD can morph into chronic depression. A study published in the Harvard Review of Psychiatry finds that about 50% of women with PPD are still depressed after the first year, and 30% still suffer from depression even three years later. Researchers believe reasons for this include:
- Some of the moms with PPD likely already had a pre-existing condition of depression prior to having a baby.
- Some may still contend with the risk factors that contributed to their PPD in the first place, such as a poor quality relationship with their partner.
Researchers know that treatment helps and Destiny is skilled in helping with this. The second reason to get professional treatment is that children whose mothers have either untreated depression during pregnancy or untreated PPD or anxiety are more likely to be negatively impacted over the long term. This is a fact. It’s painful to talk about and given that those who have had these illnesses already suffer tremendous guilt and worry over their children. Researchers have also determined that older children of mothers depressed during infancy show poor self-control, aggression, poor peer relationships, and difficulty in school. They have higher rates of substance abuse and psychiatric illness themselves. At younger ages they have a higher risk of cognitive and behavioral problems. The longer the mother suffers and the longer her symptoms go on, the higher the likelihood her children will be negatively impacted.
Does this mean if you never got help that you’ve somehow ruined your child for life? No. It just means the sooner you get help, the better for both you and your baby. Asking for help is hard. Admitting you’re not well is hard. Making yourself go to that therapy appointment, admit yourself to an inpatient facility, attend that support group, or take that medication, is hard. There’s no question about it. There are so many things that make it easy to just ignore what you’re going through and these things try and convince you that you can do this on your own.
You have to make that call. If you need treatment for postpartum depression or anxiety, go get it. You have options. There is something that will work for you. Destiny can help you get Postpartum behind you all the way.
