A lot of great reading right now related to postpartum depression, birth trauma, postpartum PTSD and more this week, so I wanted to direct you straight to it:

Help for a Traumatic Delivery and Postpartum Depression – Over on the Huffington Post, Amy Przeworski writes about her own traumatic childbirth experience and how she learned it could lead to postpartum depression. Postpartum PTSD is real and there are organizations dedicated to supporting moms who have it, such at PATTCh.

There Are Three People In My Marriage – At Role Reboot, Ariane Beeston explains that after a severe bout of postpartum psychosis and two hospitalizations, there are three people in her marriage: her, her husband, and “Prudence,” the high-maintenance, still recovering, struggling version of herself. Great story.

“I Can’t Do This” And Other New Mom Myths – Sarah Pinnix also experienced birth trauma. She writes about having panic attacks over the issue of not breastfeeding, and about going through postpartum anxiety and postpartum PTSD.

Potting Season – At Brain Child, Emily Grosvenor crafts a absolutely beautiful story about birth trauma, bonsai trees and her desperation as a new mom, “…to be everything and perfect and under control.”

Why Are America’s Postpartum Practices So Rough On New Mothers? – At the Daily Beast, Hillary Brenhouse writes about our culture around having babies and how it affects our ability to ask for help. I loved this quote, “In the States, a woman is looked after, by herself and by others, only so long as her body is a receptacle for the baby. Attention then transfers to the needs of the infant. To ask for respite is to betray not only weakness and helplessness, but selfishness.” While I would argue (and have argued) that there’s plenty of postpartum depression in countries that do have more supportive customs, I think it could only benefit mothers in the US if we did

The Reality of Post-Adoption Depression – At SheKnows, Elizabeth Weiss McGolerick writes about the causes of post-adoption depression and the fact that every mothers deserves support, no matter how she came to have the title of “mom.”

I Suffered From Postpartum Depression & Didn’t Even Know It – At Cafe Mom’s The Stir, Kristen Chase explains how she didn’t realize she’d been having PPD until her fourth baby.

An Open Letter to Women Fighting Postpartum Depression – At Everyday Feminism, Walker Karraa shares encouragement and love with women struggling with PPD.