How to know if you have postpartum depression

Katherine Stone, Founder and Editor of Postpartum Progress, shares advice for for moms on how to recognize if you have postpartum depression. Not all postpartum depression cases look the same, but there are some warning signs that you might need to consult a physician.
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How to know if you have postpartum depression

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I would argue actually that most moms who have postpartum depression don't know because there's such a wide variety of symptoms, and because there's so little awareness and understanding. So what I would say is first of all, we don't all look alike. One of you may feel numb and disconnected. Another one of you may feel rage and anger and irritability. And another one of you who has postpartum depression may be just crying nonstop. We're all different. The point is if you're overwhelmed and miserable and new parenthood is not at all what you thought it would be and this has lasted longer than a few weeks, and especially after let's say the first 2-3 weeks, the baby blues period is over. You need to really start thinking about reaching out to your doctor. Because there's no reason whatsoever to be miserable when you're a new mother. Worried a little bit - sure. Exhausted - yes. Miserable - no.

Katherine Stone, Founder and Editor of Postpartum Progress, shares advice for for moms on how to recognize if you have postpartum depression. Not all postpartum depression cases look the same, but there are some warning signs that you might need to consult a physician.

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Katherine Stone

Parenting Columnist & Advocate

Katherine Stone is the founder and editor of Postpartum Progress, the world’s leading blog on postpartum depression, and a columnist for Disney’s Babble.com. She’s also the founder of Postpartum Progress Inc., a national nonprofit focused on vastly improving support for women with PPD. In 2012, Katherine was named one of the fiercest women in America as part of More magazine’s annual Fierce List. She also was listed among the most influential mom bloggers in 2011 and 2012 by Babble, and has been selected as a Health Hero by WebMD. Katherine has been featured by CNN, the Huffington Post, Yahoo, AOL, PBS, The Today Show, HLN, ABC News and the Washington Post, among others.

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Transcription: 
I would argue actually that most moms who have postpartum depression don't know because there's such a wide variety of symptoms, and because there's so little awareness and understanding. So what I would say is first of all, we don't all look alike. One of you may feel numb and disconnected. Another one of you may feel rage and anger and irritability. And another one of you who has postpartum depression may be just crying nonstop. We're all different. The point is if you're overwhelmed and miserable and new parenthood is not at all what you thought it would be and this has lasted longer than a few weeks, and especially after let's say the first 2-3 weeks, the baby blues period is over. You need to really start thinking about reaching out to your doctor. Because there's no reason whatsoever to be miserable when you're a new mother. Worried a little bit - sure. Exhausted - yes. Miserable - no.