Friday, September 19, 2014

PPD: Risk Factors, Causes, & Symptoms

All of this information, other than my personal italicized notes, is directly from WebMD.  If you haven't already done so and wish to read about my personal experience with postpartum depression, click this link to read bout it.

Causes
Postpartum depression seems to be triggered by the sudden hormone changes that happen after childbirthmiscarriage, or stillbirth. This is more likely in women who have certain risk factors, including previous depression

Risk Factors


Symptoms (highlighted are the most common):
  • Feeling sad or hopeless nearly every day. -Yep.
  • Losing interest in or not getting pleasure from most daily activities, and feeling this way nearly every day. -Yep.
  • Lose or gain weight. You may also feel like eating more or less than usual. -Yep, but with both pregnancies I lost weight AND gained all of it back and then some.
  • Sleep too much or not enough. You may also have trouble sleeping, even when your baby is sleeping. -Yep.
  • Feel restless and not be able to sit still, or you may sit quietly and feel that moving takes great effort. Others can easily see this behavior. -Yep, Zoloft has helped with this.
  • Feel unusually tired or as if you have no energy. -Yep.
  • Feel unworthy or guilty. You may have low self-esteem and worry that people don't like you. -Yep, most of the time.
  • Find it hard to focus, remember things, or make decisions. You may feel anxious or worried about things. -YES! I have a terrible memory, and it's not good for me to worry.

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