im just concerned for my little sister (i say little but shes 22 next month lol), she had pnd pretty bad when she had her son nearly 4 years ago and as far as im aware is still on anti depressants, i found out the other day that she is expecting again,im just curious, if you suffered from post natal depression on a previous pregnancy, does that mean you will get it again? and if you do get it will it be worse?
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Mia-Louise jan '04
Jacob april '07
I suffered from PPD after my second daughter. It was quite the difficult struggle, and it took a long time for me to feel anywhere normal. BUT I think that my PPD was caused by circumstances; not just hormones. She was born nine weeks early. Even though I knew it was nothing I could have prevented, It was hard not to blame myself or at least question if it was something that I had done, and it broke my heart that people whom I had never met before told me when I could hold my baby, how to hold her, when to change her diaper, etc. My daughter was one when I got pregnant with my son, who is now nine months. He was born seven weeks early, and I feared that I again would slip back into the PPD, but maybe it's because I knew what to expect, and I knew that I did everything in my power to keep him healthy while he was inside me, that I never did slip back into PPD.
How was her birth? Was it scary or traumatic? Did she have a lot of interventions, or was it a long, drawn out labor? Did she have a good support team?
Four months is very early to get pregnant again, especially when dealing with PPD. If she hasn't beat the PPD by the time the baby is born, it's almost certain that it's not going to clear up after the baby is born. But who knows. I suggest she start forming a good, strong support team now...for the remainder of the pregnancy, the birth and the postpartum period. Good luck with her...PPD is so hard, especially since you have such a needy little one to take care of. I hope she can start to feel better before the new little one comes.
NVD
hi nvd and thanks for your reply, her birth was pretty normal she didnt have any complications and my mum said she had a wonderful midwife team so i was surprised when she got the depression, her son is 4 years old in december but shes still on the pills for the depression, im just worried that since she hasnt been able to beat it in 4 years the new baby will just make it worse. i love her dearly and dont want to see her suffer. forgive me if i sound a bit ignorant about depression but i have never experienced it personally
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Mia-Louise jan '04
Jacob april '07
im just concerned for my little sister (i say little but shes 22 next month lol), she had pnd pretty bad when she had her son nearly 4 years ago and as far as im aware is still on anti depressants, i found out the other day that she is expecting again,im just curious, if you suffered from post natal depression on a previous pregnancy, does that mean you will get it again? and if you do get it will it be worse?
I had depression for 3 years then was ok but i got pregnant had my baby and all hell let lose i had such bad depression i hated everyone including baby.Doctors said as i have had depression they should have been watching me as it hits bad after a baby.My baby is 10 months old now and am trying to come off my tablets now.So am sorry but your sister will probably get it bad after the baby or due her pregnancy.Its sad but its something evil and all we can do is try to control it.
hi nvd and thanks for your reply, her birth was pretty normal she didnt have any complications and my mum said she had a wonderful midwife team so i was surprised when she got the depression, her son is 4 years old in december but shes still on the pills for the depression, im just worried that since she hasnt been able to beat it in 4 years the new baby will just make it worse. i love her dearly and dont want to see her suffer. forgive me if i sound a bit ignorant about depression but i have never experienced it personally
Hi gemmalou, I am sorry...I misread your post the first time. For some reason I thought it was four months--Not four years.
There's a big, big difference there!
Maybe at this point, the baby will actually HELP her. It will give her new things to focus on, and who knows, maybe the hormone change will do some good! I suffered from major depression before I had my first daughter, and had an easier time fighting it after she was born, than before. Maybe because I knew I had this wonderful, new little person who didn't need to see me sad and depressed all the time, or maybe because the hormone adjustment was just what I needed. I don't know. Depression is something that I've dealt with for a long time, but yet, I still don't understand it. Anyway, good luck again. Sorry for the misunderstanding!
