PPD Facts

Today I went to the Dr.'s office to have them listen to my chest. I have had really bad wheezing and coughing attacks for almost 2 weeks. I ended up getting an inhaler, and some medicine to knock out any germies in my chest. I started to speak with him about women and Depression, and if he thinks the reason I am on Lexapro is because of postpartum or if it was a sudden onset because of a chemical inbalance. He said it was to hard to determine and that in recent studies they have found that Lexapro fixes both- and that they are finding that Postpartum still happens long after a child is born. This all made sense to me b/c it was not like I started seeing the TV talk or anything- I just never felt "normal" after having Paisley almost 3 years ago! I never thought of sucide, or any thing else major- I was just a very emotional person (like always, but intesified) Iwould feel happy, sad, excited, mad..... every emotion just extreme. I have started to get really interested in this and I think more women actually have/had Postpartum Depression, and never really knew it.

Here are some PPD Facts:

PPD is the most common complication of childbearing.

PPD occurs in 13% (one in 8) of women who give birth.

PPD affects approximately half a million women per year in the US.

There is no single cause for postpartum depression. Physical, emotional and lifestyle factors all may play a role. Depression also runs in some families.