A few days ago, I walked into the grocery store holding hands with my three and five-year-olds. The delicate scent of baby powder overwhelmed my nostrils the second we stepped into the diaper-filled walkway of the baby aisle for pull-ups. Immediately and without warning, my memories drifted back to my first postpartum experience. A fresh pack of Pampers always does it.
In September of 2008, I was eagerly awaiting the impending arrival of our first child. I thought we had prepared for everything – nursery, diapers, clothes, breastfeeding supplies – we were ready. I had even read up on postpartum depression. I thought I might be more susceptible to the illness since my mom had a touch of the baby blues after my brother was born and I had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder two years before becoming pregnant. Little did I know it would be the complete opposite end of the spectrum that would grab ahold of my mind the day after our son was born.
I ended up having a C-section because my progress stalled after the epidural and the baby’s heartrate was becoming deeply affected by the contractions. My OB made the quick decision to do the surgery and get him out, to be safe.
It was scary, but over quickly and seeing my son for the first time was a dream come true. I was shivering uncontrollably from the epidural meds, but gave him a kiss and stared at him for a good ten minutes while a nurse took pictures for us and then whisked him off to the nursery. I was wheeled into Recovery for a few hours where I called our friends and family with the good news. The mania hadn’t set in yet, but by this time it was 1am and I had been in labor since 5:30am the day before. By the time I got settled into my room and my son was brought to me so we could try nursing, I had been up for a full twenty-four hours and I was yearning for rest.
But at the same time, I couldn’t take my eyes of my baby boy. This little life grew inside of me for nine months and I finally had the chance to hold him and feel his teeny fingers in mine. I was awestruck by what had just happened, and sleep was the last thing I wanted to do in that moment. I wanted to get to know my baby. I tried nursing him, and we did some skin-to-skin, but by that point I was dizzy with exhaustion. My best friend who is a labor and delivery nurse and who had been with us the entire time, urged us to send him to the nursery so I could try to sleep. I took her advice the entire time we were in the hospital, but with the hourly checks on my vitals, there was no way to get any real rest.
I had been medication-free during my entire pregnancy and planned to stay med-free so that I could breastfeed him. We were sent home after three days in the hospital, and even though I had felt the onset of mania while we were there, I didn’t dare tell anyone because I didn’t want to fail at my first attempt at being a mom to my son.
We arrived home and after the initial wave of exhaustion had passed the morning after he was born, it became fuel for the fire of the vicious escalation of my symptoms. I remember being so anxious about my milk coming in that I would wake up from short stints of sleep covered in burning hot, puffy red hives all over my legs and mid-section. The baby’s schedule made sleeping long stretches impossible, so my sleep deficit grew with no end in sight.
I wasn’t willing to let anyone take over night feedings and my symptoms kept getting worse. From the intensity of my anxiety over not being able to provide my baby’s nourishment, to my sudden sense that I could be supermom and extremely productive on barely any sleep, to auditory hallucinations which eventually were what tipped off my husband and parents that I needed to go to the hospital. I was admitted on October 22nd for Postpartum Psychosis.
Being taken from my four-week old son two days after he was baptized was one of the most grueling events of my life. Nothing can bring back that week we lost. I saw him grow and change so much in one short week via photos my family brought me in the hospital. It broke my heart to be away from my newborn.
But believe it or not, looking back now I can appreciate what we went through. I have embraced my past because it has brought me here. My hope is that sharing my story will help educate people so they can understand that postpartum mood disorders are brain illnesses are like any other illness that can affect the body. We can treat them and we can recover from them. And we will emerge stronger because of them.
No one should ever be afraid of admitting and asking for help. Help starts here. You are not alone.
Fantastic article, Jennifer! While I did not suffer from PPP, I was diagnosed with postpartum bipolar after the birth of my second child. I can relate to certain poignant issues that you address here. I was forced to give up breastfeeding when my baby was six weeks old after I checked myself into the behavioral health unit – ceasing breastfeeding was a heartrending but necessary decision. I appreciate your sharing here so much, and thank you for being an amazing, inspiring mental health advocate.
Thank you so much, Dyane! Giving up breastfeeding was so heartbreaking, but once I was able to understand that what I was doing was the best choice for myself and my baby, it became easier to accept. Now I’m a formula-feeding advocate for new moms who live with mood disorders.
Thanks for the article it was eerily similar to my own PPP so I can empathize with your experience! Glad to see you are doing well 🙂
Thank you so much for reading, Trisha! I agree – being able to read that another mom experienced something similar is comforting. We are certainly not alone in our struggles and the more we speak out, the more families we can help.
As brave and wonderful post. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much, Laura!
You capture that time perfectly. It is a scary time, and thank GOD there is a happy ending, for those in the thick of it, I hope they find courage and the information here, to seek help, without shame. And that with time, they forgive themselves.
I agree, Alexandra. I’m so thankful I had the support I needed and saw the doctors I did and was able to get well. I wish the same for all moms out there who go through what I went through. Thanks for reading!
Jennifer, I too suffered from PPS after the birth of my third child and was later diagnosed with bipolar NOS. I can relate to the fact that while the experience lasted only two weeks for me, it seems I lost so much time precious time with my son during those two weeks that I often feel guilty about it even though I know I shouldn’t.