What’s Normal, What’s Crazy: How You Can Tell What’s Going On
Posted Oct 07 2008 6:29pm
by Christy Cuellar-Wentz
New mothers rarely admit to the full extent of their stress level or to the difficult emotions they live with. After all, women with new babies are supposed to feel blissful, loving and grateful for the miracle of new life in their care, right?
The internal belief that other people will perceive them as “bad” keeps too many mothers silent. They may choose to suffer quietly rather than risking strong judgements from friends and family or even having their babies taken away. Having a guideline to show what is normal and what isn’t can make all the difference in getting help to new mothers in difficult situations.
The “baby blues” are experienced by most women during the first two weeks after giving birth. Hormone levels go through huge fluctuations before settling down and normalizing. During this time, new moms often have a hard time concentrating, and find themselves to be more forgetful than usual, anxious, tired, tearful, irritable and moody. The good news is that the “baby blues” tend to resolve without any external intervention.
Unfortunately, the symptoms of “baby blues” don’t always pass on their own. They may last longer and be more severe, including stronger mood swings, lack of interest in the baby or self, lowered daily functioning, hopelessness, depression, feelings of inadequacy and vulnerability. It is estimated that anywhere from 1 in 5 to 1 in 10 postpartum women experience these symptoms of postpartum depression. Women with PPD may feel a little crazy, but they are still sane.
Unreasonable fears, panic attacks, obsessions about cleanliness and germs, and visions of finding herself unable to stop something bad from happening to her baby may indicate a more severe postpartum mood disorder. Postpartum obsessive-compulsive disorder includes these symptoms along with all the previous ones. The level of intensity is amplified, but women with this disorder are still considered sane.
What about the women who get sensationalized on the news, the ones who think their babies are from the devil? We’ve all heard stories about new mothers who think they were told to hurt themselves or their babies. Can these women be sane?
These women are probably dealing with the severe end of the postpartum mood disorder spectrum. This is the line between crazy and sane. Only one or two out of every 1000 women will cope with this rare disorder. Their auditory and visual hallucinations can be quite dangerous. Women with postpartum psychosis need immediate medical attention and hospitalization, and yes, their babies will have to be taken care of by other people for a while.
Here’s a helpful way to assess the situation: If a new mother has the presence of mind to be concerned about her thoughts and emotions, if she is worried about the well being of herself and her child, she is quite likely sane. All the symptoms you’ve just read about are absolutely treatable. Let’s remove the stigma from postpartum mood disorders and encourage new moms to be honest about their experiences. Help is available now.
New mothers rarely admit to the full extent of their stress level or to the difficult emotions they live with. After all, women with new babies are supposed to feel blissful, loving and grateful for the miracle of new life in their care, right?
The internal belief that other people will perceive them as “bad” keeps too many mothers silent. They may choose to suffer quietly rather than risking strong judgements from friends and family or even having their babies taken away. Having a guideline to show what is normal and what isn’t can make all the difference in getting help to new mothers in difficult situations.
The “baby blues” are experienced by most women during the first two weeks after giving birth. Hormone levels go through huge fluctuations before settling down and normalizing. During this time, new moms often have a hard time concentrating, and find themselves to be more forgetful than usual, anxious, tired, tearful, irritable and moody. The good news is that the “baby blues” tend to resolve without any external intervention.
Unfortunately, the symptoms of “baby blues” don’t always pass on their own. They may last longer and be more severe, including stronger mood swings, lack of interest in the baby or self, lowered daily functioning, hopelessness, depression, feelings of inadequacy and vulnerability. It is estimated that anywhere from 1 in 5 to 1 in 10 postpartum women experience these symptoms of postpartum depression. Women with PPD may feel a little crazy, but they are still sane.
Unreasonable fears, panic attacks, obsessions about cleanliness and germs, and visions of finding herself unable to stop something bad from happening to her baby may indicate a more severe postpartum mood disorder. Postpartum obsessive-compulsive disorder includes these symptoms along with all the previous ones. The level of intensity is amplified, but women with this disorder are still considered sane.
What about the women who get sensationalized on the news, the ones who think their babies are from the devil? We’ve all heard stories about new mothers who think they were told to hurt themselves or their babies. Can these women be sane?
These women are probably dealing with the severe end of the postpartum mood disorder spectrum. This is the line between crazy and sane. Only one or two out of every 1000 women will cope with this rare disorder. Their auditory and visual hallucinations can be quite dangerous. Women with postpartum psychosis need immediate medical attention and hospitalization, and yes, their babies will have to be taken care of by other people for a while.
Here’s a helpful way to assess the situation: If a new mother has the presence of mind to be concerned about her thoughts and emotions, if she is worried about the well being of herself and her child, she is quite likely sane. All the symptoms you’ve just read about are absolutely treatable. Let’s remove the stigma from postpartum mood disorders and encourage new moms to be honest about their experiences. Help is available now.