Postpartum Depression
A Personal Account It was as if I were being buried alive, sinking in quicksand, unable to find my way out. That’s how I felt after the birth of my sixth child. I was irritable; I cried; I was exhausted, yet had trouble sleeping. Getting through each day seemed nearly impossible. My own children avoided me; my husband tiptoed around me. I was convinced that my family and the world would be better off without me. Although I was a certified nurse midwife at that time, my lack of experience and understanding of postpartum depression matched that of the average layperson and, unfortunately, most medical professionals. Postpartum depression (PPD) was something that happened to “other” women who already had psychological problems. Anyway, PPD would never happen to me. I was too “happy”! I was always the type of person that people viewed as so capable, energetic, and positive. But I suddenly realized that if PPD could happen to Michal Finkelstein, it could happen to anyone. After my sixth child was born over twelve years ago, I suffered from PPD. It was only after this birth that my doctor and I realized that I had probably suffered from PPD after the births of […]
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