Postpartum Depression Resources
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Postpartum depression is a serious condition whose symptoms range from mild to severe. Fortunately, plenty of resources are available to help support the affected woman and her family.
Postpartum depression resources include:
- Help phone lines
- Community support groups
- Online forums
- Books and help guides
- Screening tools and quizzes
- Success stories from other women and families
The appropriate resources will depend on the severity of the condition, whether there were complications during birth and other individual needs. Many women don’t have a spouse or family’s support, so community-based resources like support groups and online forums will be vital to the healing process.
Postpartum Depression Screening
Postpartum depression can only be diagnosed by a doctor or mental health professional. However, screening tools are available online to help identify symptoms and learn more about the condition before seeing a doctor.
Postpartum depression screening tools include:
- Online quizzes
- Symptom checkers
- Health questionnaires
One of the most widely used and well-validated postpartum depression screening tools is the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). It is a 10-question test that asks about specific postpartum depression symptoms you may have experienced over the last week.
Having a better awareness of your symptoms by using screening tools can help you communicate openly with your physician. This ensures a faster diagnosis and also allows treatment to begin as soon as possible.
Postpartum Depression Quiz
To seek appropriate and timely treatment, it’s important to develop self-awareness about your possible postpartum depression symptoms. By acknowledging your suffering and the progress of your symptoms, you can better communicate with your family, physicians and mental health professionals and adjust your treatments accordingly.
You can use a combination of screening tools and quizzes to gain better awareness about your specific condition. These will help you determine the scope and severity of your symptoms and gain better insight into your specific ailments.
Even after diagnosis, you may continue to take online quizzes to track the progress of your symptoms and recovery. Tracking your symptoms may help you adjust your treatment options as you move forward.
Postpartum Depression Support Groups
Support groups are another postpartum depression resource that can be useful during treatment. Women with postpartum depression often feel alone in their struggles. These feelings can spiral into isolation and withdrawal from social functions.
Support groups counteract these feelings by offering encouragement and community. Support groups provide real-life and relatable examples of others going through postpartum depression. This helps ease the feelings of being alone, isolated or misunderstood.
Support groups provide not only safe spaces for open communication but they also offer social connectivity too. Support groups provide crucial encouragement and a sense of belonging for women who don’t have enough aid at home. Peer support can help lower the risk of postpartum depression, alongside, not instead of, treatment.
Support groups are available in your community or online through help forums. Support groups include women who are currently facing postpartum depression or who have faced it in the past. They provide space to share helpful information and encouragement for one another.
There are also support groups that include spouses, family members, and friends, as postpartum depression can deeply affect loved ones too. For couples facing marital struggles due to postpartum depression, connecting with other people facing similar problems can be beneficial.
Postpartum Depression Statistics
While suffering from postpartum depression may make you feel alone and isolated, it is fairly common and normal for women to experience some form of postpartum depression or anxiety during pregnancy or afterward.
CDC surveys found that about 1 in 8 women (11.9%) with a recent live birth report symptoms of postpartum depression, with rates ranging from 7.2% to 17.1% across states.
These statistics come from surveys of women who recently gave birth, so they do not capture everyone affected. Many suffer from their symptoms in silence, so the true number of people with postpartum depression could be much higher than reported.
Additionally, many postpartum depression statistics only account for live births. Many women also experience depression and anxiety after miscarriage or other pregnancy loss. This could further increase the statistics of postpartum depression when all factors are considered.
Helpful Links and Outside Resources
Organizations, helplines and communities beyond this site — see our curated list of postpartum resources.
Postpartum Depression Success Stories
The initial stages of postpartum depression can seem hopeless, but many people have successfully recovered from it. Learning about other women’s struggles and how they overcame this debilitating condition offers hope and guidance for women and their families.
Postpartum depression success stories educate women about which treatments to pursue, provide them with expectations, alleviate feelings of shame and guilt, and provide positive reinforcement.
It’s important to familiarize yourself with these stories of hope and remember that recovery is possible. Many women go on to live enriched and happy lives with their children despite their struggles with postpartum depression.
