The hardest thing I have ever been through is my sister, Anna’s, Postpartum Depression.

Anna is in the hospital right this moment giving birth to my new niece so she is on my mind.

I thought it would be a good opportunity to post about something I am passionate about.

5 years ago, after the birth of her son, Duane, PPD almost killed her.  Anyone that truly knows Anna, knows that she is a down-to-earth, STABLE, level-headed, (not to mention..cute!) girl. I would like to make a thousand few key points. 

Please note that we have meticulously explored EVERY avenue with a fine tooth comb.

We have been educated by brutal experience. 

We have tried natural treatment, medical treatment & spiritual treatment.

I have spent hours, days and months researching this illness.

I have made up my mind.

A. PPD is a MEDICAL illness; therefore if you are truly suffering from this, you need medical help!  That doesn’t mean that I don’t believe in the power of prayer, I DO.  I felt God’s presence more than ever during this time, but God did not give her this illness.

WELL MEANING friends and family would sit Anna down and try to find the sin that was causing this grievous mental torture. They would spend hours trying to minister to her. At the end of each session, Anna would be worked into a frenzy of terror, worse than when they started.  If this had been a spiritual battle all this ministering would have worked. To me these sessions were the same as telling a cancer patient that they do not need medical help.  Or telling someone with a cavity to just pray.  The problem with this ignorant approach is that they were unknowingly hindering her recovery and putting her life in grave danger. PLEASE research before you try to help someone with PPD!  After all you wouldn’t suggest

treatment to someone with cancer without first researching the nature of that cancer, right? HOPEFULLY NOT.  What a blessing it was when our pastor sat down to listen to her story and told her that she needed medical help. 

B. PPD is something entirely different than BABY BLUES.  The blues usually happen within the first few weeks after birth. Something like 80% of new mothers will experience baby blues.

Typically PPD worsens around 3 months after birth due to a sudden change in hormones and can last for 1 year, as was the case for Anna. Unless you stop sleeping, stop eating, spend every moment trying to survive while your mind ruminates and races with unceasing, tortured thoughts of murder, suicide & a multitude of other ghastly things,  you probably did not have PPD.  This is not something you can fight on your own.

C. PPD is NOT easy to treat!  Unfortunately many people think that when they take an anti-depressant it will cure them.  Only if you are very lucky.   It took trips to the ER, several different doctors, several different meds and multiple adjustments of meds to find the right treatment for Anna.  It takes up to 6 weeks for an anti-depressant to work, so adjusting them is a tedious thing.  The dedication paid off and though they did not cure her, anti-depressants saved her life and made it bearable until the PPD ran it’s course.

D. Though circumstance can make PPD worse, it does not CAUSE PPD. The doctor uses this analogy: with depression the bathtub is full and any othe troubles just make it overflow. When Anna had her next baby, Claire, we were very nervous and watchful.   Then when Claire was still a tiny newborn, Matt (Anna’s husband) was in a terrible accident and lost his leg.  Anna spent weeks at his bedside with baby Claire.  Not a DROP of depression.  That is proof that circumstance does not cause PPD.  It can happen to any woman after any birth.

E. It is hard to find books on personal experience. 

Perhaps because the sufferer does not want to recall the nightmare. 

Brooke Shields did write a book about her experience.

Please feel free to contact us for support if you are suffering from PPD or know of someone that is suffering.  I urge husbands to PLEASE look out for their wives and help as soon as possible if you notice that your wife is depressed.  It is almost impossible for a woman suffering PPD to help herself. PLEASE realize that it starts out silent and subtle.  You may not realize what is going on in her head.  If she does reach out and tell you it likely already pretty bad—-don’t minimize it. PLEASE realize that this illness WILL KILL.  I know of at least 2 other young mothers in our church that have violently died from this.  Anna and I can imagine exactly what was going on inside their heads, how their afflicted mind made them believe untruths and the DEEP despair they were experiencing and know without a doubt that it could have been Anna. Such a dark and terrifying place to be.

I have so much more to say about this subject. 

I could go on for DAYS.