Postpartum Depression

Most women get the “baby blues,” or feel sad or empty within a few days of giving birth. For many women, the baby blues go away in 3 to 5 days. If your baby blues don’t go away or you feel sad, hopeless, or empty for longer than 2 weeks, you may have postpartum depression.

According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, postpartum depression is a serious mental illness that involves the brain and affects your behavior and physical health. If you have depression, then sad, flat or empty feelings don’t go away and can interfere with your day-to-day life. You might feel unconnected to your baby, as if you are not the baby’s mother, or you might not love or care for the baby. These feelings can be mild to severe. Mothers can also experience anxiety disorders during or after pregnancy.

Postpartum depression may be mistaken for baby blues at first — but the signs and symptoms are more intense and last longer, and may eventually interfere with your ability to care for your baby and handle other daily tasks. Symptoms usually develop within the first few weeks after giving birth, but may begin earlier ― during pregnancy ― or later — up to a year after birth.