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Postpartum mood disorders can affect women in different ways. Some of the more common symptoms include:
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You are not alone. There is help!
Postpartum mood disorder is a broad term that includes postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety and panic, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and bipolar disorder. Symptoms may begin during pregnancy. Men can also experience emotional difficulty during the postpartum period.
Up to 80% of women feel sad or anxious during the first weeks after childbirth or adoption of a baby- it’s often called the “baby blues”. If these symptoms continue beyond the first few weeks postpartum, or become worse, a woman may be experiencing a postpartum mood disorder. Postpartum mood disorders affect up to 20% of mothers.
Although all women are susceptible to developing a mood disorder following childbirth, women who have one or more of the following factors have a moderate to significant increased risk of experiencing postpartum depression or a mood disorder:
*This information has been adapted from Postpartum Depression: A guide for front line Health and Social Service Providers (2005) Ross, L., Dennis, C., Blackmore,E., and Stewart, D.
If you are concerned that you may be experiencing a postpartum mood disorder, you don’t have to suffer in silence. You’re not the only one who feels this way. There’s plenty of help available to you.