A FEW STATS REGARDING POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION (PPD):
About 20% of women report feelings of anxiety, sadness, depression, panic, frustration and hopelessness.
- Thirty percent of women who suffer from PPD had a history of depression prior to pregnancy.
- Forty percent of women with PPD had a depressive episode during pregnancy.
- Nearly 70 percent of the women who experience PPD also had signs of an anxiety disorder, the symptoms of which are not often associated with depression.
- Twenty percent of the women studied were diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
- One in five of the women with PPMD had thoughts of harming themselves.
- Suicide is the second leading cause of death in postpartum women.
- Screening for and identifying postpartum depression will save lives.
Here are some resources and articles that may help you support those around you. Some contain helpful info for you as the support person, others are ready to share with women struggling now.
RESOURCES:
- As a leader, start by meeting with your pastor or others in your church to develop a list of counselors or support options in your area.
- Dial 988 in the U.S. for the Suicide Prevention Hotline or visit IASP to find a helpline in your country.
- American Psychiatric Association, General Resource: healthyminds.org
- National Institute of Mental Health:
- American Psychological Association
- Beck Depression Inventory: This can be used to assess depression at any stage, including during pregnancy (*this is a simple assessment and should be followed up by a visit with a professional)
- Edinburgh PPD Scale: used to assess the risk for PPD. (*this is a simple assessment and should be followed up by a visit with a professional)
- The-Ultimate-Postpartum-Guide: Tidbits for surviving and thriving in the first 6 months of motherhood, by MOPS International.
MomCo PODCASTS ON THIS TOPIC:
- Episode 78: 4 Simple Things to Improve Your Mental Health
- Episode 77: What is Your Practice?
- Episode 50: What Anxiety Does to Your Brain
- Episode 9: How Social Media is Impacting Your Mental Health
- Episode 6: Mommy Wine Culture
MomCo Videos and Collective:
Visit the MomCo Library and search the topic Fear/Anxiety for videos and discussion questions created to share with moms in your meetup.
Fierce Love Collective: What To Do With the Big Emotions of Motherhood is a short, small group study available to all MomCo members. It is for any woman who has experienced emotions, thoughts or moods that feel too big for her heart to handle. We can all agree that this mothering gig is not for the faint of heart – the statistics on mood and anxiety disorders among moms are staggering. This small-but-mighty participant guide is for any mom who has experienced anything from baby blues to postpartum depression, anxiety, scary thoughts, bipolar or panic disorder, and everything in between.
ARTICLES TO SHARE WITH MOMS from the MomCo blog: