[ Previous Page ]     [ Next Page ]        Page:

There are a lot of surprises when a couple finds out they are expecting their first child.  As you go through pregnancy you experience all kinds of things you never realized would happen!  Then the big day arrives and your baby is born -- another day of surprises but they’re all worth it when you see your new bundle for the first time!

For most of us, pregnancy is not an easy time.  At the very least, it is uncomfortable!  And giving birth is definitely not easy.  You go into labor tired and generally miserable from the discomfort of being 9 months (or more!) pregnant.  Labor may be long or short, but in any case it will be incredibly intense.  Giving birth is probably the hardest work anyone will ever do.  Then when your baby is born there is just nothing like the incredible emotional high of meeting your child!  Every time you look at him/her you can hardly believe this new little person is yours to love and care for.

Especially with a first child, we often expect things to get "back to normal" once we get home from the hospital.  But there are a whole host of additional surprises in store.  Until you’ve experienced it, there’s just no way to imagine how tired you can get when you need to feed this little person every couple of hours around the clock.  If you’re nursing, your milk comes in after a few days and that is usually another shock!  Breast-feeding is applauded as such a wonderful experience, but maybe no one warned you that the first few weeks will probably be uncomfortable and challenging -- to put it mildly! 

Adding to the mix, silently in the background, our hormones are making huge and rapid adjustments.  From pregnancy, through child-birth, into breast-feeding, and ultimately back to normal, our hormones are on a wild roller-coaster ride.

As a result of all this, post-partum depression enters the picture -- another unexpected surprise.  There are some common misunderstandings about post-partum depression.

First, post-partum depression is not a sin!  It is a completely natural result of the combination of hormonal change, extremes of emotions and physical fatigue.  Post-partum depression isn’t something that may happen to you.  It is something that will happen to you!

Second, post-partum depression is not always characterized by a woman losing complete touch with reality and attempting to kill herself or her child!  These are the most severe cases that we hear about on the news and are not the norm.

Third, post-partum depression is not something you need to fear.  It doesn’t have to cripple you.   if you are aware of the fact of post-partum depression you can prepare yourself for it and walk through it successfully.

Post-partum depression is quite simply a physiological phenomenon resulting from the combination of exertion and hormonal change surrounding childbirth.  For most women it is of fairly brief duration.  For a few women it can become severe enough that medical intervention is necessary.  If it causes inability to function, inability to care for your baby, thoughts of suicide or compulsion to hurt your child you need to seek medical help.  No one should condemn you for this!  It is just hormones gone crazy.  Usually, temporary medication will correct the problem.

"Normal" post-partum depression may include such symptoms as crying for any reason or none at all, irritability, insomnia and generally "dark" emotions.  You may feel like you’re under a dark cloud.  You may have vague feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, sadness, or impending doom.  These are all feelings that are not based on reality.

I recently had the "pleasure" of experiencing post-partum depression first-hand again and was reminded of how challenging it can be.  It was a pleasure because the blessing of our surprise miracle baby has been awesome!  But post-partum depression was anything but pleasant.  Even though I knew to expect it, it wasn’t easy.  Here are some things that helped me:

[ Previous Page ]     [ Next Page ]        Page:

This page has been displayed 2 times this month, 2 times since October 11, 2008 .