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My Postpartum Depression Story

One Mom, in Her Own Words

By Kathy Woltman

As a regular at ParentsPlace it was one of the first places I investigated. It was there that I found the PPD board and the posts that I read told me right away that I had postpartum depression. I was so horrified that I put my head down on my keyboard and cried.

I spent the entire weekend trying to find out everything I could about PPD. I recalled my mother saying – years before – that my sister, Karen, was "having some problems" after she had had one of her babies. Is this what she meant? I called my sister and she confirmed that she had had PPD after the birth of her second and fifth babies. She has six children and always wanted a large family. If my sister, one of the most cheerful people I know, could have this then I suppose anyone could. She had not talked about it with anyone and that is why I didn't know. She does not live near me.

After discussing the symptoms I was having (very much the same as my sister's) and talking to my mother, my mother realized that she had had PPD after she had had my sister in the early '60s. No one talked about it at that time and my mother never sought help ... just suffered through it ... afraid she'd lose her children if she told anyone.

First thing on Monday I called my OB and told them what was happening. They SHOULD have referred me to a psychiatrist right away. OBs are not trained to treat PPD and they have limited knowledge of the medications used to treat this disorder. Many women wind up being "mistreated" by their OBs. However, this was something I learned as time went on.