This is Dr. Maria Elswick with Kaiser Permanente San Diego with an important message about postpartum depression.
Having a baby changes everything. Along with the excitement, you’re juggling new responsibilities, lack of sleep and facing the reality that parenting is harder than you planned.
It’s not unusual to feel a bit sad after your baby is born. These baby blues usually last a few weeks.
But if you don’t start feeling like yourself again, or you get worse, you may have postpartum depression. Severe mood swings, anxiety or panic attacks, trouble feeling close to your baby or thoughts of harm coming to you, your baby, or your family are all symptoms of postpartum depression. Help is available.
If you think you may have postpartum depression, talk to your doctor as soon as possible. Your doctor can get you the treatments you need to help you feel more like yourself again and enjoy your time as a new parent. You are not alone in this!
For more information, visit kp.org/sandiego