Yesterday, I wrote about depression during pregnancy and today I want to talk about depression after pregnancy, which is most commonly known as post partum depression.

About ten to fifteen percent of women who give birth experience postpartum depression. Postpartum depression can happen anytime in the first year after giving birth. After pregnancy, hormonal changes in a women’s body can bring on the post partum depression. Post partum depression needs to be treated by a physician.


Symptoms of Postpartum Depression:

• Feelings of sadness and hopelessness



• Feeling restless and irritable



• Prolonged crying spells



• Eating too much or too little



• Sleeping too much or too little



• Trouble Focusing or Remembering



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• Withdrawal from friends and family



• Feelings of worthlessness

Now, if you read those and think about a women who just placed her baby for adoption, she is going to have many of those feelings as a result of the adoption and the loss of her motherhood to her baby. I have no clue how a doctor would begin to tell the difference between what is actual grief and what is postpartum depression but if you are experiencing those symptoms for a prolonged amount of time (the Women’s Health website says two weeks) then definitely contact your doctor.

I was diagnosed with postpartum depression after Charlie was born, but again I don’t know if I actually had it or if I was just grieving. At any rate, I was put on an antidepressant for awhile and once I went back to work and had things to concentrate on other than my grief, I started to feel a little better. That’s not to say I didn’t still grieve, but it just wasn’t as all consuming as before when I wasn’t working, was at home alone for much of the day, and could only think of my baby and all the thoughts and feelings surrounding adoption.

If you think you may be suffering from postpartum depression, consult your doctor, counselor, or therapist.


Source: Women’s Health
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Depression while Pregnant