[softengine]

What is it with postpartum depression? I never had it- not with either of my boys.

Why is it occurring this often now, and with such monstrous violence?

[MeekOneGOP]

I don't know. Didn't Andrea Yates in Houston who drowned
her 5 kids suffering from postpartum depression as well.?

[Xenalyte]

One of my best friends had it something fierce. She's ordinarily quite sunny, and after her daughter came along, she did a 180 . . . was almost morbid in her outlook. Her husband had standing orders to call any of us at any time if he needed anything at all.

Fortunately, she came out of it about two months after her daughter was born . . . her daughter is now 10 and one of the smartest children I've ever met, and her mother is proud as can be and doing better than ever.

[LibertarianInExile]

Because people excuse such monstrous behavior as a result of 'mental illness.' We simply cannot take the risk that 'illness' like this is not cured before she is released. This woman should be put to death. I don't care if the kid cried all day and night, or if the mom had the worst post-partum experiences ever. You don't kill people, period, 'crazy' or not.

[Arizona Carolyn]

I think the best description of PP Depression came from Marie Osmond after her episode. She indicated that initially they gave her "drugs" which only made her more disoriented. Eventually she found her way to a nutritionist who changed her diet and with the help of diet and the right supplements slowly helped bring her out of it... it's a hormonal thing.

What is known, for sure, is Postpartum depression is related to the hormonal fluctuations following childbirth. Nothing can be done to prevent it though there are some coping strategies that can help alleviate it.

Unlike baby blues PPD comes on later as hormones try to sort themselves out. It seems to be more pronounced after each pregnancy.

As to why so common today: Could be our lifestyles. In the "old days" women usually had help after the birth of a baby. Mom or Grandma came to stay and care for the other kids, the new mother and the baby and the new mother was able to get more rest. Remember they usually kept the mother in the hospital for at least a week and in bed for quite a while thereafter (they thought childbirth made you an invalid).

Perhaps that was a good thing because now they expect supermom to be up and about take care of home, family and back to work right away. Women feel overwhelmed and afraid to admit it for fear of being called a bad mother.

I'm not excusing what happened in her case -- it's HORRIBLE and my heart breaks for the baby and the pain it endured. But just as with Yates. Where was the husband? CPS? Also.. WHAT drug was she on. These drugs have a blow-back factor that many people just don't understand and not the cure-all. The drugs that were given Andrea Yates is a good example of a bad drug that shold never have been prescribed.

[It's me]

What is it with postpartum depression? I never had it- not with either of my boys.

I never had it with any of my five children.

[CaptainK]

I had PP depression. It's a very strange feeling. I could actually feel a mental change overcoming me. I was excited and positive before the birth of my child but by the time I left the hospital I was overwhelmed with a depression that had not existed during my pregnancy. But I knew what it was and I knew it would pass. I later learned it runs in my family.
However, never did the thought of harming my child ever enter my head. Never.
What this woman has done is beyond my comprehension. Her children should be shielded from her forever. They will never be safe in her presence. How could this level of insanity ever be cured?