I've been thinking more about the latest statistics on PPD in the U.S. recently released by the CDC. As I wrote last week, the report included information from women in 17 states who responded either "often" or "always" to the following questions:
- Since your new baby was born, how often have you felt down, depressed, or hopeless?
- Since your new baby was born, how often have you had little interest or little pleasure in doing things?
The study found that women with PPD were more likely to be younger, less educated, and in financial or emotional stress. In response, Postpartum Progress reader and total warrior chick Kim pointed out the following:
I wonder where I fit in? 36 year old non-smoking woman with happy marriage, financially stable, and a master's degree… I would think I was an anomaly but the few woman I know who have gone through it are all more like me. Strange.
A similar thought occurred to me when I was looking at the data. I was 32 when I had my son, had been married 8 years and happily planned for this birth, was completely financially stable and had a great career and a college degree. And lots of the women I know who've gone through PPD are like that as well. From the women I've talked to around the country and across the world, it seems like people from all backgrounds are highly vulnerable. Are there risk factors that make it more likely for some people than for others? Sure. But this does lead me to ask the following question: Are those women who happen to have more education, better finances and more stable environments just less likely to self-report?
And if the CDC states that the percentage of women in the U.S. who experience PPD is probably somewhere in the 15% range based on the number of women who self-report, what must the percentage REALLY be, considering how many of us dare not open our mouths to self-report out of fear? I mean, this is not like self-reporting a sore throat or headaches. Postpartum mood disorders are the kind of illness that lots of people aren't interested in volunteering personal information about. Could the true number of new moms in the U.S. suffering these illnesses be more like 20% to 25%? More?
Click here for more information on PPD statistics.
Photo credit: © Andres Rodriguez – Fotolia
Thank you for visiting Becoming Me and informing me about the petition. I will link to your site and post more information as my PPD posts continue. Any insights that you have would be helpful. I have been pretty much symptom free since December, but it was a long and painful journey.
Interesting as well. I'm "young" but not "young-young." I'm educated and financially stable.
Where do I fit?
The numbers do nothing but further alienate mothers who are suffering that don't fit the "profile." Depression is not a time to alienate people. Now I'm left feeling, "Yup. I AM the only one."
Thrilling.
I also have to wonder about the implications of the type of delivery a woman experiences in relation to her postpartum status. Studies show there are significantly different hormones and brain chemicals present in a woman who experiences a non-medically induced delivery vs. those who are induced w/ Pitocin (read Michel Odent for more on this). Could this be another factor added to the list of things that predispose a woman to PPD?
Thanks for the heads up on the CDC report. I'm still sticking with the percentage at ~ 20% from my own work in childbirth education.
I had a planned non-medicated birth… and sometimes I wonder if the overwhelming pain I experienced (beyond what I expected since my Bradley books said some women call it "pressure" and not pain) played a part in my PPD. I will probably go natural again, but this time I'll know more what to expect. Definitely NOT just pressure! kim