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postpartum depression

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Postpartum can be a challenging time. Extra support goes a long way

Bringing a baby into the world can be a dream come true for many women. But that bliss is quickly compromised by the physical and emotional toll caused by the postpartum phase.

During this time, when hormones are raging and focus is compromised and energy is practically nonexistent—all while trying to recover from extreme physical transformations and keeping a newborn alive—having partner support is more important than ever.

That’s what makes one woman’s detailed list of things husbands (or just the partner who didn’t not deliver the baby, really) can do to help support mom moms through postpartum such an important read.

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via Freepik

A new mother struggling with postpartum depression.

We may be just months away from having the first-ever pill to help treat postpartum depression (PPD). The drug, called Zuranolone, was developed by Sage Therapeutics and Biogen, two companies out of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The FDA has given the drug’s application priority review and the period ends on August 5, 2023.

Currently, there is only one FDA-approved medication for PPD, Zulresso, which is only available through a 60-hour, one-time infusion and can cost up to $35,000 per treatment.

If the medication is approved, it can also be used to treat major depressive disorder (MDD).

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Depression and other mental health issues after giving birth are more widely recognized.

Nowadays, postpartum depression is so widely known that people who have never birthed a child know many of the warning signs. But when I had my first child, I was unaware that what I was experiencing wasn’t normal.

I was young, and living away from family who could’ve picked up on the signs. Doctors were not as vigilant then as they have been in recent years. I was given a postpartum depression screening at my six-week checkup, and no one asked me any follow-up questions. They handed 19-year-old me a child and essentially said “good luck.” Now, mothers are screened at every well-baby visit for their child, and if you’re a parent, you know those happen every couple of months, gradually spreading out as the infant gets closer to a year old.

By screening at every well-baby visit, doctors are now catching many more cases of postpartum depression before they become severe. They can prescribe a course of medication or advise you to seek out therapy with a licensed therapist specializing in perinatal or postnatal parents. Doctors, midwives and therapists are all taking the development of postpartum depression seriously, but rarely do we hear about other postpartum mental health conditions.

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Kylie Jenner.

It’s pretty safe to say that everyone who has ever been pregnant has gone through pregnancy and the postpartum period differently. Everyone processes the hormones in their own way, gains weight differently and loses weight differently. But the overall experience of pregnancy and postpartum, while different, is also strikingly similar. In today’s world we have become accustomed to celebrities bouncing right back after giving birth. It seems as though they give birth and are walking the red carpet the following week in a sleek fitting gown, glowing with smiles and laughter. Kylie Jenner is no exception. After she had her first child, Stormi, Kylie’s social media went right back to business as usual.

All of the content she put out was perfectly crafted, and she showed up in public spaces looking as if she just stepped away from a magazine shoot. There was little to no evidence outside of pictures of her child to show that she had actually had a baby. Jenner kept her entire pregnancy under wraps until the birth of her first child, while continuing to push out content that showed her in the best of light. While some women feel the Kardashians and Jenners perpetuate unrealistic body images, and the sisters have been accused of using photoshop to continue showing the world perfectly sculpted bodies clad in equally perfectly coordinated outfits, Jenner's recent confession has some moms rejoicing.

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