Understanding the Onset of Postpartum Depression: When Does It Start?

Postpartum depression is depression that happens after giving birth. It affects roughly 1 in 7 individuals who give birth. Postpartum depression risk aspects include having a current or past mood disorder, having undergone a difficult birth, lacking support, or experiencing stressful life events after birth. Knowing the chance aspects and warning signs can assist you discover if and when it starts.

This article covers when postpartum depression starts, the early warning signs, and the best way to get help.

What Factors Influence the Onset of Postpartum Depression?

Postpartum depression occurs for a mixture of reasons. Biologically, this includes hormonal changes after giving birth, specifically a quick drop in estrogen and progesterone in the primary day after birth and dropping levels of thyroid hormones in the times and months after birth.

Socially and emotionally, childbirth is a major transition that might be related to stress, worry, anxiety, and lack of identity—amongst other challenges.

Contributing aspects to postpartum depression include:

• Difficulty breastfeeding
• Difficult or traumatic birth
• Domestic violence, current or previously
• Lack of social support
• Personal or family history of mental health issues
• Premature birth
• Previous birth with associated trauma
• Stressful life events while pregnant or the postpartum period
• Surviving childhood abuse or adversity
• Unplanned pregnancy
• Young age (younger than 20)

When Does Postpartum Depression Start?

Most cases of postpartum depression start between 4 and eight weeks after childbirth. However, postpartum depression symptoms can occur as soon as 24 hours to as late as months after giving birth.

While the American Academy of Pediatrics advises screening for postpartum depression as much as six months post-birth, some research suggests that healthcare providers should screen for postpartum depression for up to 3 years after giving birth. This is in light of evidence that postpartum depression can develop after the normal six-month mark in some cases.

A subgroup of individuals with postpartum depression develops symptoms closer to a 12 months after birth. One study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 7.2% of birthing parents had postpartum depression nine or 10 months after birth.

Of these people, nearly 60% had not had any depressive symptoms at their two- and six-month postpartum screenings.

Depression related to childbirth may also develop before birth; this is known as prenatal depression. Both prenatal depression and postpartum depression make up perinatal depression, which is depression that happens while pregnant up to 1 12 months after childbirth.

Early Warning Signs of Postpartum Depression

Specific symptoms can indicate the onset of postpartum depression. Knowing the next symptoms and warning signs can assist you get timely and appropriate treatment.

Emotional Symptoms

Emotional symptoms of postpartum depression include how you are feeling, which—in some cases—can manifest as certain observable behaviors.

Emotional symptoms include:

• Anxiety
• Hopelessness
• Irritability or anger
• Mood swings
• Sadness
• Shame or guilt
• Worthlessness

Physical Symptoms

Postpartum depression may also affect you physically. There are many physical changes after giving birth and adjusting to life with an infant. Part of the challenge is determining if the symptoms are atypical and more serious.

Physical symptoms of postpartum depression include:

• Appetite changes, similar to eating kind of
• Crying episodes
• Fatigue and exhaustion
• Sleep disturbances

Behavioral Symptoms

There are also behavioral symptoms related to postpartum depression, specifically, changes in the way you interact together with your baby, partner, friends, family, and yourself.

Behavioral symptoms of postpartum depression include:

• Difficulty bonding with the child
• Loss of interest in hobbies or activities you previously enjoyed
• Thoughts of harming yourself or the child
• Withdrawal from family and friends

Baby Blues vs. Postpartum Depression

The “baby blues” is a standard experience of sadness, overwhelm, and low-level depressive symptoms after childbirth. Considering the large life transition of caring for an infant, these feelings are normal. However, the child blues shouldn’t be the identical as postpartum depression.

Between 50% and 85% of birthing parents will develop the child blues. They typically start around two to 4 days after birth and last lower than two weeks. The baby blues are different from postpartum depression, which usually lasts longer than two months and doesn’t go away without treatment.

Symptoms of the child blues might be much like postpartum depression. However, the child blues are less severe and shorter-lived. These include:

• Anxiety
• Appetite loss
• Crying episodes
• Difficulty sleeping
• Mood swings
• Overwhelm
• Sadness
• Trouble concentrating

How to Get Help for Postpartum Depression

Since postpartum depression generally doesn’t go away without treatment, it is vital to know the best way to get treatment.

It might be difficult for brand spanking new parents to talk openly about their symptoms. You might imagine feeling this fashion is a “normal” a part of being a brand new parent, or chances are you’ll feel guilt or shame for feeling sad during what is anticipated to be a joyous phase of life.

The truth is that although latest parenthood might be hard, it shouldn’t cause depression. Talk to your partner, friends, family, and medical professionals about your symptoms to start the diagnosis process.

Healthcare providers treat postpartum depression with a mixture of talk therapy and antidepressants. A drugs called Zulresso (brexanolone), which is delivered via a 60-hour continuous intravenous fluid after birth, is another choice.

In 2023, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Zurzuvae (zuranolone), the primary oral medication to treat postpartum depression.

Support groups are also helpful for coping with postpartum depression and connecting to others in an identical situation.

Summary

Postpartum depression is depression that happens inside one 12 months after childbirth. However, the fact of when postpartum depression starts is more complicated.

The general consensus amongst researchers is that almost all of the time, postpartum depression occurs inside 4 to eight weeks after birth. However, emerging research indicates that it may also develop later (nine or 10 months after birth), with symptoms continuing potentially for years.

It might be hard to hunt help and support for postpartum depression for a wide range of reasons, but mental health must be a priority. Treatments, including talk therapy and medicine, can bring relief to postpartum symptoms.