How do I know if I have postpartum depression?

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Dealing with Postpartum Depression

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Dr. Ann Kellams

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Virginia

Dr. Ann Lenox Kellams, assistant professor of clinical pediatrics in the Division of General Pediatrics and medical director of the newborn nursery at the University of Virginia Children’s Hospital, is an expert in newborn care and breastfeeding. Kellams teaches pediatric clinical skills to students and residents and authored the Newborn Nursery Resident and Student Curriculum and Orientation Manual for UVA Children’s Hospital. Kellams serves her surrounding community by being a mentor for the African American Student Mentorship Program, by serving on the Virginia Breastfeeding Advisory Committee and by hosting various community education workshops on newborn and infant care. She received the Outstanding Graduate Designation from her alma mater, the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine.

How do I know if I have postpartum depression?

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics Dr. Ann Kellams explains how to know if you may have postpartum depression.

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Host: How do I know if I have post partum depression?

Dr. Ann Kellams: It's a very overwhelming sensation to go from not being a parent to being a parent. It can be an out of body experience and it's very common to be moody, irritable, tired, tearful in those first few days, any of those going beyond that borderline abnormal.

There are a few risks factors for post partum depression and they include a history of depression in the past for the mom. Certainly, a history of post partum depression and then other things like other family stress or strife or not having a supportive person that's going to be helping, being alone with the baby in those early days without a lot of help, history of infertility, history of previous losses of babies can all be risk factors. So those moms need to be very aware of what their baseline is and noticing changes and also the people surrounding her because they maybe the first to notice that something is not right.