Attempting to generate awareness of postpartum depression and eliminate stigma among an audience of pregnant women is a great reminder of the various attitudes about PPD that still exist.
This weekend I was at the Atlanta Baby & Child Expo sharing information on PPD. I got three general responses from the pregnant attendees there as I tried to chat and hand out educational materials:
1) With her head nodding, the pregnant or new mom says, "Postpartum depression is REAL. Hope I don't get it, but I'll take this information just in case."
This mom stops and listens, even if just for a moment. She is genuine when she says she understands PPD is real. She is willing to consider the possibility that anyone can get a perinatal mood or anxiety disorder, and feels there is no harm in grabbing some information about it. She may mention knowing someone who had it. If it's not the mom that stops, it's her friend or her mother who says "I'll keep this and watch out for her. Thanks for the info."
I love these people. I could hug these people.
2) The pregnant or new mom giggles and says with a big smile, "Oh, no thanks! I won't be needing that!"
This mom thinks she's immune. She is completely confident that there is no way in hell that she will have PPD, so she laughs breezily at the thought that she might need information about it. She sashays by, off to try and win the car seat raffle and watch the maternity clothing fashion show.
I worry for these moms, because I had that same attitude once, and then I got hit by a Mack truck.
3) The pregnant or new mom offers a dismissive smirk and a wave of the hand and says "I don't have time for postpartum depression."
This mom thinks postpartum depression is BS. PPD is for people who are lazy, or don't have better things to do, or aren't smart, strong effective mothers like she is/will be. PPD is for losers.
This woman offends me, truth be told. I know there are lots of people like this, who are ignorant about mental illness. I bite my tongue and smile as she walks away.
I'm so grateful to the Atlanta Baby & Child Expo for allowing me to promote education on perinatal mood and anxiety disorders to the very important target audience of women who might get them any day now. I hope at least one woman finds comfort and support with the information she received. I also hope the great majority of them never go through what the readers of this blog have.
In the meantime, Saturday's experience reinforced how much work we still need to do.
number two…
fascinating. i work with pregnant women (teaching childbirth ed) and i'm always thinking about this stuff. i mostly find women are afraid of ppd. but then again these are the ones who raise their hands and ask me questions. they hear that a history of depression puts them at risk and they worry… bc so many of us have been depressed or otherwise unhappy/anxious, etc at some point. i am happy to hear from these moms in class b/c it gives me a nice way in to talk about the huge range of emotions and various possibilities. thanks for posting this.
Thanks for your wonderful work Katherine !! You are "spot on" with your analysis of the reactions from those 3 types of pregnant women being exposed to PPD information. But take some satisfaction in the fact that the women in groups 2 and… 3 (the gigglers and dismissers) ….have been exposed by you to the possibility of PPD. Even if it was for a "nano-second"…I garantee that some part of their mind may link back to PPD when they "feel down, detached, inadequate" for no apparent reason in/around the time of birth. And for some of these women…that will be the "trigger" that has them seek out help !
I was fortunate there was information in my hospital packet after the delivery of my daughter. I appreciated it being incorporated with all of the other useful information. Others aren't so lucky. I'm glad you are sharing the info. It's important that more ppl are made aware.
I was none of the above. Had never even heard of/ been told to look for PPD.
Number 2. I remember seeing the information and someone asking me if i wanted a follow up call from a nurse. I was definitely NOT going to have any of those issues so of course I didn't need any follow up help. Boy was I wrong !
I live in Pennsylvania, and we have to read/sign a form about Shaken Baby Syndrome before leaving the hospital. (It's a state law.) I wish they had similar education about PPD in the hospital. It should be a standard part of the hospital discharge process.
I was fortunate that I knew about PPD and knew to get help when I experienced symptom. However, I know many women who were unaware or who thought PPD only happened to "crazy" people or "weak" people. If all new mothers were given some education about PPD, it would help reduce the stigma and also let moms know where/how to get help if they need it. Why isn't PPD taken as seriously as Shaken Baby Syndrome by hospital administrators and our legislators?
I completely understand this. We "share" a lot at my prenatal yoga class and I mentioned my extreme PPD, but I didn't want to scare anyone. I am not sure how people took it, but it's a reality so I said it, because it is something ALL women should be aware of and on the lookout for ,since letting it escalate makes it worse. Thanks for this article!
Jennifer Flavin
I was one of the moms who NEVER thought it would happen to her. I had a friend mention it and I dismissed it and chalked the comment up to her general negative attitude.
The work you are doing is really awesome! If you reach just one person, that is worth it.
I was the mom who thought it would never happen to her and I was a nurse to boot. I think there needs to be serious emphasis on this and women need to take this seriously. But how?
I've done several of these baby fairs now and have had similar experiences. At the last one, thanks to a partner here in Nashville, I had a drawing for a free childbirth preparation class. I told them that I'd trade take their entry form but they had to take my information. I kept it light hearted and fun. Sometimes I had long conversations with moms who were really interested in making sure they were educated, and other times I had solace in knowing they at least had the info in their bag. I also ended up with close to a hundred contacts of expecting moms who we can send a welcome baby note to and reiterate our services.
That resonates with my experience with a Baby Expo booth too. 98% of the moms walked on by. 1 pregnant mom (over F, S, S) took information. Dads took information. The grandmas to be took info. My favorite people were the moms who stopped by to talk and say they'd had PPD and were so glad to see our booth and the information out there.
Honestly, if I'd seen a booth like mine or yours, I'm afraid I'd have been in the 3rd group. And maybe that's why I got the extra helping/big dose of PPD. The bonus from it all is I learned so much and gained tremendous compassion. (I know–I'm singing to the choir)>
Great post. PPD kicked my rear into yesterday and back through tomorrow. I'd like to hold some preggo ladies down and force-feed them good information and ways to avoid the risk. I suppose that would not work, would it?
I'm sorry to hear that.
We are all so sure it won't happen to us!
Probably not, but I hear 'ya. 😉
I'm just glad you're out there educating women, Diane.
I was thinking I need to come up with some type of spectacular giveaway. I bet then more people would pay attention!
Thank you Beth!
Katherine,
I'm still so happy you made the time to be there and think we can still reach those moms together. Because I organized most of the giveaways, I have the contact info for the majority of these moms. Let's add info about PPD to every newsletter I send them from here on out–just something about what to look out for–and a resource to refer them to should they recognize a sign. You are right…we just have to help one to know we've made a difference and I know we can do it together… especially when we show we're not trying to sell them a thing–just looking to help make sure they have somewhere to turn!
Great idea. How do we get that done?
I recently did an expo where they LOVED me first! I had a big beautiful basket of free tea samples, with my info on integrative care for PPD stapled on to each tea bag. I simply said, "This is for YOU!". They were so happy to get something for free and I did not bring up PPD.
A local doula shared with me how to get free samples from Traditional Medicinals. They sent me hundreds of "Mother's Milk" and "Organic Chamomile" teas. You could always add a free offer on your material, such as 'free support' in your area via PSI's site.
Or, you can try to teach a class at events like that, to get at your target audience. It's such a tough topic- especially for pregnant women.
I have been speaking on "Reducing New Mother's Stress" and including PPD in those talks with pregnant moms.
Keep up the great work!