Ida Tin’s “Dear Men” Series: Part 17 of 29 – Postnatal Depression

Dear Men, this is for you—about what it feels like to have a woman’s body. Post 17/29, about feeling sad after giving birth: postnatal depression.

Being pregnant, giving birth, and then still being in that body after the baby has left equals a craaaazy hormonal ride. That’s a fact.

No wonder (!) our brains can feel hormonal spikes off the charts and react to them. Therefore, we notice it happening. We notice it big time. For some, this means getting depressed.

But hormones are only part of the explanation.

I have not suffered from postnatal depression myself (though I definitely had my blue days), so I turned to Wikipedia:

– Postpartum or postnatal depression (PPD) is a mood disorder experienced after childbirth, which can affect both men and women. Symptoms may include extreme sadness, low energy, anxiety, crying episodes, irritability, and changes in sleeping or eating patterns.

– About 20% of women who are low-income suffer from postnatal depression, while for those with more financial resources, it’s about 10%. Women with fewer resources may also be more likely to have an unintended or unwanted pregnancy, increasing the risk of PPD.

– Fathers get depressed too—about 10%. One of the strongest predictors of paternal PPD is having a partner who has PPD, with fathers developing PPD 50% of the time when their female partner has it.

– The psychosocial risk factors for postpartum depression include severe life events, some forms of chronic strain, relationship quality, and support from partner and mother.

– And 50% of women who get depressed experience it even before birth.

All of this is kind of a no-brainer: when women don’t do well, they are more vulnerable to postnatal depression. And often, they don’t do well because society is failing them. For example, racial issues take a toll on women:

African American mothers have been shown to have the highest risk of PPD at 25%, while Asian mothers have the lowest at 11.5%, after controlling for social factors such as age, income, education, marital status, and baby’s health. The PPD rates for First Nations, Caucasian, and Hispanic women fall in between.

Those are heavy numbers. Everyone is at risk of PPD; I know strong, kind, smart women who felt terrible after giving birth. And people need to get help. If they don’t, both parents and children suffer. Long term, that means society suffers.

It’s simple: When women don’t thrive, we all suffer. And when women thrive, we all thrive more.

-This post by Ida Tin is shared on LinkedIn and is republished here with her permission. The SheSight Team has not made any changes to the content.