Beating the Baby Blues

Tending to a newborn is incredibly hard work; imagine trying to fulfill your loving duties while suffering from postpartum depression.

While awareness about postpartum depression has gained traction in recent years, many moms still suffer without treatment; not surprisingly, kids suffer too, Carey Goldberg of The Boston Globe (July 5, 2006) reports in “Pediatricians urged to focus on moms, too.”

The upside is that recent pediatric research suggests that responses to two simple questions: "Have you lost interest and pleasure in doing things lately?" and "Have you been feeling down?" are useful predictors of postpartum depression. The timeliness of diagnosis is particularly important given other promising research indicating that if a mother’s depression resolves within three months of treatment, her child’s psychiatric symptoms also tend to dissipate.
These research findings suggest that pediatricians, who often have more contact with moms than a mom’s primary care physician, should be responsible for asking the diagnostic questions and offering referral resources. But as many mamas know, pediatricians are time-strapped as is, and there’s no telling if and when postpartum depression screening will be incorporated into typical pediatric practice.

Meanwhile, if you feel like you or someone you know may suffer from postpartum depression, seek support. PCP's provide referrals; the Mass. Commission of the Status of Women also has a website which includes resources for: free/affordable care, reproduction/parenting, mental health, and women’s health. FYI, Depression After Delivery, Inc. has since combined resources with Postpartum Support International. Click here for the PSI resource section for moms. I will dedicate a separate post to resources for dads.