pre-partum depression anyone?

[4mommieprego]

Have any of you ever heard of pre=partum depression? I think I am experiencing it let me know what you know

[AislinCarys]

Removed, as I do not want this to end up on Facebook.
Edited by AislinCarys - 5/23/11 at 8:08pm

[Paigekitten]

Yeah, this is me right now.  I've had depression in the past, and it hit me again like a ton of bricks with this pregnancy.

[MSWmama]

I'm mostly a lurker on this forum, but I had this as well. It was mostly anxiety during pregnancy (lots of intrusive thoughts about something happening to the baby), and turned into PPD after the birth. My CNM told me that it's very common, especially in people with a history of depression / anxiety. You're not alone, mama! 

[KayPea]

Me too. I just called my midwife today to get referred for subsidize counselling. It's so hard, especially when other moms-to-be are so happy in their pregnancies, and I am so not. I feel awful for my 2-year-old, who spends her day watching TV and having tantrums. I had a little bit of pre-partum depression with DD in the last month, which developed into full-on PPD/A.

I have a real block about taking meds too, so I'm not sure what to do...

[birdhappy85]

I've got this too, although I can't tell what came first, the anxiety or the depression. I know they exacerbate each other, and I've been experiencing them at such a bad level since just 4 weeks into my pregnancy. :-/ I had some relief and felt good between weeks 16 and 20 due to some miraculous short-lived hormonal shift, but then things really went downhill again and I'm right back where I started. It's a lonely place being pregnant and depressed! Seems like nobody ever hears about prenatal depression....... they seem to just think postpartum is all there is. It's not fair. There needs to be more awareness of this.

Is anybody else tired of people suggesting you just take medication? It really pisses me off. I could go into a full-blown rant here about that but I'll refrain! I refuse to medicate because of past problems I've had while on them and also because having a developing baby inside of me is enough reason for me personally to refuse. But it's really frustrating that so many people who haven't experienced it just think it must be easily cured by therapy and/or meds. I've been in therapy for years for various reasons, and I am just not a good candidate for medications. Therapy has helped me live a functional life through lifelong mood/anxiety problems, but it doesn't help my pregnant self anymore. The hormones won. I don't want to have to explain that to people, though. What works for some people doesn't work for others...... and hormones add a whole new dimension to the struggle of coping since they add a significant biological complication. At least that gives me some consolation knowing that I've given my all to finding a solution (therapy, chiropractic care, supplementation, etc), even if I haven't actually found relief *yet*. I'm hopeful.

[Paigekitten]

Originally Posted by birdhappy85 

Is anybody else tired of people suggesting you just take medication? It really pisses me off. I could go into a full-blown rant here about that but I'll refrain! I refuse to medicate because of past problems I've had while on them and also because having a developing baby inside of me is enough reason for me personally to refuse. But it's really frustrating that so many people who haven't experienced it just think it must be easily cured by therapy and/or meds.

[Lisa1970]

Originally Posted by Paigekitten 

I agree. If you merely read about what the drugs do to an adult brain and chemistry, you do not want that happening to your baby inside of you. I did take antidepressants with my 9 yr old when pregnant and he has serious anxiety problems now.

[jasmin85]

I've definitely been feeling this lately.  I was so into the pregnancy and just a little anxious before, but now I've been having something which resembles anxiety attacks as well as sadness and moodiness.  I'm not able to eat much, perhaps two meals a day, and I'm not sleeping well at all!  Sometimes I wake up at about 5am and I am in a complete panic and in physical pain from sadness I am having a difficult time coping.  I'm sure things will be fine when the baby is here, but then again I am worried because with my daughter I likely had post-partum depression that went untreated and it was very difficult on my relationship with DH, and DD. I'm worried about our relationship and it is making me feel regrets about having the baby, which feels so awful!  To make matters more stressful, he "dropped" today and I am only at 33 weeks!  I know that it doesn't tell you when they will come, it could be days or many weeks yet, but the idea of him coming early just makes me worry more!  I have an appointment with a Naturopath on Friday to hopefully get something homeopathic help for now, and I am considering placenta encapsulation because I hear it does wonders for the hormone fluctuations after baby is here.  Honestly though, I may just need a full-blown anti-depressant, as much as I don't want to take one, I know it may be what I really need.  I don't have anything ready for baby yet and am nervous about having the baby shower this week....I don't want me and the baby to be put in the spotlight when all I feel like doing is crying...we don't even have a clue for a name.  This is all so sad to me.

[RoneeLynn]

i am in the same boat this is my 5th pregnancy and was unplanned,,before this i just started working making lots of money and was feeling grest becaus i am the only provider for my kids,,their father refuses to work for reasons unknown,,he is an amazing father to my oldest two who are not his as well as my two youngest he is the most amazing father i have ever seen,,honestly,,so when i found out i was preganant with my 5th i was very saddened which made me feel guilty,,i knew i would eventually have to stop working because i get HUGELY pregnant around 6 months i was a janitor so the work was a definite NO NO for a pregnant woman also i was put on bed rest in my second month due to bleeding and a tear in the placenta so i immidiatly quit my job,,my man was excited about this baby me being pregnant,,so i couldnt bear to tell him how sad i was to be pregnanti like to breastfeed for an entire year and refuse to put my newborn in ANY DAYCARE or even family care,,so working for the next year maybe two is out of the question..i am still undecided about this pregnancy..and also feel very very guilty that i feel this way

[RStelle]

I had crazy hormones when I was pregnant, I was fine most of the time but sometimes I would become horribly depressed for a few days, there would be no reason for it, it was just my hormones I'm pretty sure. It was scary because it would just hit me all of a sudden out of the blue and it just felt so unnatural and like it was coming out of nowhere. I was worried that I would have PPD but I didn't have any problems.

[RoneeDownwind]

I am halfway through my pregnancy this is number 5 for me,,i was on medication the last 3 i was on paxil,,i never had any complications with any me or my babies my kids dont have any psychological effects from it so far they are healthy and have amazing personalities...during all my pregancys i get HORRIBLE pre partum depression and have never even had ppd,,i get HORRIBLE intusive thoughts HORRIBLE what if thoughts...i just started taking prozac because for an entire month now ive crashed into a deep depression and TERRIBLE anxiety,,i also suffer ocd and ptsd,,which also plays a nasty role in what im already dealing with,,i have horrible thoughts,,and want to know if anyone else deals with similar issues,,i feel ALONE and need some support...