What makes postpartum depression different from depression? I have been asked this question many times.

It is indeed different, and I know the answer to the question, but since I’m not the amazing Karen Kleiman or Marlene Freeman or Susan Stone, since I’m not an expert psychologist or psychiatrist or social worker, it’s always difficult for me to respond in a clear and concise way.

This, from Dr. Claudia Gold in this piece from the Boston Globe, is a great explanation:

What makes postpartum depression different from other forms of depression is that it occurs in the setting of responsibility for a new life — with a person who is completely dependent, and brings his or her unique qualities to the relationship.  To fully hold the mother’s experience, it is important to recognize the baby’s contribution. For example, when a baby is born with difficulties settling to sleep, or  is not naturally cuddly, it will have significant impact on the mother’s emotional experience. Sleep deprivation and feelings of inadequacy may compound an existing depression. In turn, the mother’s state of mind, particularly if she is preoccupied with her own distress, may impair her ability to help the baby to contain and manage his experience. A recent study showing that mother’s struggling with anxiety and depression often wake their babies at night offers an example of how a mother’s emotional state may affect her child’s development.

Postpartum depression involves both mother and her new baby. As explained by Karen Kleiman in her book Therapy and the Postpartum Woman, “This juxtaposition of one of life’s greatest gifts and one of life’s most unkind illnesses is what makes postpartum depression different from depression that is unrelated to childbirth.”

Go read the article. It’s very well done, and points out the important work being done in the state of Massachusetts by Representative Ellen Story, MotherWoman and the Massachusetts Commission on Postpartum Depression. Happy almost Mother’s Day!!