Post from Women to Women

Postpartum depression's silver lining
by Marcy Holmes, NP, Women's Health Nurse Practitioner
Anyone who has ever had a baby knows that sometimes -- or maybe I should say often -- pregnancy and childbirth don't match the picture-perfect image we see in the parenting magazines. The most classic instance of this mismatch occurs when a new mother experiences postpartum depression (PPD), especially when it hits after she's had a terrific, even enjoyable pregnancy. But for me, a tale of a wonderful, happy prenatal experience followed by a bad case of postpartum blues points to a distinct health issue that might otherwise go unnoticed: a hormonal imbalance that can resurface or persist all the way through to menopause.
Maybe you're long past your childbearing years, or maybe you've just had a baby recently. Either way, you should realize that it's important for you to pay attention to your postnatal emotions. If you are a new mom who is feeling blue or depressed, or even if you felt that way when your now-teenage son or daughter was still in diapers, understand that there are physical circumstances related to these emotions that are important to recognize, even years later. I've had patients tell me, "I haven't felt quite right ever since I gave birth," long after their child has passed out of babyhood. It only makes sense: if there was an underlying imbalance before you had a baby that manifested in PPD, it's probably still with you even after the PPD resolves. That's the silver lining to PPD: it can highlight a hormonal balance problem that you can address before it starts causing you major difficulties with your menopause transition -- which is especially important if you're an older mom who might already be starting perimenopause. Trying to balance your hormones while chasing a toddler around can be a challenge, to say the least! So let's talk about what happens to our hormones postpartum and how PPD can act as a signpost for regaining our hormonal balance afterward.

To get more info on this: http://www.womentowomen.com/depressionanxietyandmood/postpartumdepression.aspx