I asked the members of the Postpartum Progress Facebook Fan Page if any of them had stories of having postpartum depression after delivering twins or multiples. Melissa D., a mother of four from Wisconsin, was kind enough to share her compelling story. She had so many risk factors, including everything from a history of anxiety, to previous infertility treatments, to a previous miscarriage, to an upland pregnancy, to the loss of her mother during one of her pregnancy, to a major house move and more:
My twins’ pregnancy was a complete surprise, as we already had two children and had decided not to have any more. I had difficulty pregnancies previously — modified bed rest and preeclampsia — plus a recent miscarriage, all of which were part of the decision. I had already donated most of our baby items, and my husband was about to get a vasectomy. I was pretty shocked to find out I was pregnant. A few weeks later I learned we’d be moving, and then I found out we’d be having twins! I cried pretty much every day from that moment on.
I was already upset, but people’s reactions to my having twins only made things worse. They would say, “Thank God it’s you and not me,” or “I know someone who had a nervous breakdown with twins” or “I would hate to be you.”
I resented my husband for making us move when I was seven months pregnant. It was nearly impossible to move around, never mind unpack and try to make friends. I was highly agitated and irritable. I started pre-term labor after the move, and my uterus was so irritated that I was continually in a state of one giant, painful contraction. I remember wondering whether it would be better to roll out of bed and wobble to the bathroom or just stay there and pee on myself because it hurt so much to get up.
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