EP 161 Unveiling the Truth Postpartum Depression Myths vs Facts
Apr 23, 2024
Maranda Bower, Postpartum Nutrition Specialist
There are so many postpartum depression misconceptions and myths that are believed to be the truth. And it's damaging to women everywhere and our society.
It's time to face the facts of this condition that has become far too common and is completely treatable.
In this episode we're talking about: Understanding Why Postpartum Depression Is Treatable Going Beyond Hormonal Imbalance Treatment Beyond Pills and Counseling Timeline of Postpartum Depression Dispelling Stigma and Misconceptions
Postpartum depression is a serious but treatable condition that requires collective efforts to address.
By debunking myths and fostering understanding, we can create a supportive environment for mothers navigating the complexities of postpartum experiences. Recovery is possible with the right support and resources.
Remember, you are not alone, and there is hope for a brighter journey through motherhood.
Grab your FREE Provider's Postpartum Nutrition Toolkit 18 pages of PDF handouts that serve as your comprehensive resource for delivering whole-body nutrition care and achieving better health outcomes for the families you support.
Learn what your symptoms really mean with our Postpartum Health Assessment Postpartum depression, anxiety, depletion, and autoimmune issues have become a new normal. Take the most comprehensive postpartum assessment to discover what your symptoms are telling you and even more importantly, what you can do to fix it for good.
There are so many postpartum depression misconceptions and myths that are believed to be the truth. And it's damaging to women everywhere and our society.
It's time to face the facts of this condition that has become far too common and is completely treatable.
In this episode we're talking about: Understanding Why Postpartum Depression Is Treatable Going Beyond Hormonal Imbalance Treatment Beyond Pills and Counseling Timeline of Postpartum Depression Dispelling Stigma and Misconceptions
Postpartum depression is a serious but treatable condition that requires collective efforts to address.
By debunking myths and fostering understanding, we can create a supportive environment for mothers navigating the complexities of postpartum experiences. Recovery is possible with the right support and resources.
Remember, you are not alone, and there is hope for a brighter journey through motherhood.
Grab your FREE Provider's Postpartum Nutrition Toolkit 18 pages of PDF handouts that serve as your comprehensive resource for delivering whole-body nutrition care and achieving better health outcomes for the families you support.
Learn what your symptoms really mean with our Postpartum Health Assessment Postpartum depression, anxiety, depletion, and autoimmune issues have become a new normal. Take the most comprehensive postpartum assessment to discover what your symptoms are telling you and even more importantly, what you can do to fix it for good.
Depression, anxiety and autoimmune symptoms after birth is not how it's supposed to be.
Maranda Bower:
There is a much better way, and I'm here to show you how to do just that. Hey, my friend, I'm Miranda Bauer, a mother to four kids and a biology student turned scientist, obsessed with changing the world through postpartum care. Join us as we talk to mothers and the providers who serve them and getting evidence-based information that actually supports the mind, body and soul in the years after birth. Hey, hey, welcome to today's episode of Postpartum University. I'm your host, miranda Bauer, of course, and I've got a really special topic that I want to dive more into, because postpartum depression affects millions of people.
Maranda Bower:
This is a serious epidemic of our society that we are just not taking seriously enough, in my humble opinion, and I know that when I experienced really extreme postpartum depression, I had some serious misconceptions about the experience and what it meant for myself. There was so much misconception and stigma, and I still find that exists today, and it's vital that we confront these misconceptions and myths head on, and that is what this episode is all about. We are gonna be busting myths, because that's what I love to do, and the truth is postpartum depression, and I'm gonna tell you straight up it is not a sign of weakness or failure. It is a common and treatable condition, and it is often a condition of not getting the support you desperately need during such a monumental life change. So today we are going to separate some facts from fiction. I'm going to tell you all about how it's not your hormones that are playing a role here about you know we need to release so much of this stigma, and that you know it's not something that happens just in the first few weeks and so many more. So let's go ahead and dive right in.
Maranda Bower:
So one of the key myths that I always hear about postpartum depression is that you can't prevent it, and I'm going to tell you this is the one myth that I get the most flack of, because postpartum depression affects you no matter who you are, no matter your race, your economic status, no matter how many friends you have, no matter how much support systems you have in place, no matter what your background is, where you've come from, your history, your health, no matter who you are, you can easily fall into the hands of postpartum depression, and that means, for so many clinical aspects of depression and what's studied, that therefore you must not be able to prevent it, because no matter how much prevent it, because no matter how much money you have, no matter what kind of friend circle and support groups that you have, then, therefore, you're going to have it right. The chances are. You know, with one in seven women experiencing postpartum depression, which I don't believe are accurate numbers, especially in today's economy, especially after COVID those numbers are not accurate. It's more likely around one to three women experience postpartum depression. However, it's just, it's one of those things that we need to recognize how much control we do have, especially when we're able to address the root cause.
Maranda Bower:
Now, this is where so much misconception lies, because a lot of people believe that, well, it's just your hormones or you know what. It's just part of having a baby. It's something that our society has completely normalized because it is so common. But, as I always say, commonality does not equate to normalcy. We should not be normalizing this. We should be seeking better healthcare options. So what is currently available, what we're currently doing in the postpartum world, and how we're supporting ourselves or not supporting ourselves, is not working for us. It's not helpful. It is doing far more damage, and oftentimes it's because we are not getting to the root cause.
Maranda Bower:
Now I get into the root cause care on so many episodes. I will link a few for you here so you can learn a little bit more. But this is what I call my mama thrive method. In order to thrive as a mom and really support yourself and help prevent things like this is making sure, obviously, you're getting the support that you need, you're getting sleep, you're getting nutrients. I'm going to tell you, no matter how much support and friends you have, no matter how much sleep you're getting, if you're not getting enough nutrients in your body you're getting, if you're not getting enough nutrients in your body, you're not going to feel well. You are going to experience symptoms that oftentimes mimic postpartum depression. Food, nutrition and everything related goes hand in hand to how we feel, and so I again I cover this in so many details in other episodes. I'm gonna leave those links for you, but I'm telling you please hear me out In order to heal, we have to get to the root, and the root are so many factors, as in getting support, nutrition, making sure that you are able to detoxify your body.
Maranda Bower:
After having a baby, our detoxification pathways change in pregnancy and so when we enter into the postpartum state, they kind of open back up again and we enter into a normal biological detox. And when our bodies are not supported, especially nutritionally, or we're feeling overwhelmed and not supported and we're not getting the sleep that we need and our nervous system is on high because maybe we had a traumatic birth, or again we're not getting the support that we need, we're going to hold on and retain a lot of those toxins that are supposed to be leaving the system and therefore we're going to create more problems. So there's your myth one you can prevent it, and the idea that you can't is false. Hey, I'm going to be a hundred percent straight with you. The postpartum world is changing right now and I know you feel it. It's in the politics, our community spaces.
Maranda Bower:
There is an urgent need to implement a different approach to postpartum health. If you're an alternative provider or postpartum advocate, you need to be with us in the Postpartum University. Pro Membership, get the method, the tools, the handouts, the advanced trainings and so much more to not only help your clients and your business grow, but to help you grow too. Marketwatch says that the afterbirth services and nutrition and support is set for extraordinary growth by 2030. Don't miss your opportunity to help women and families who desperately need your holistic support. Go to wwwpostpartumucom slash membership. We're accepting registrations right now and we can't wait to see you there.
Maranda Bower:
Here's another myth there's nothing you can do but take pills and get counseling. Now, hear me out on this. I'm a big fan of getting the support that you need, and oftentimes that means professional support. You know, we all have a provider that helps us with our physical ailments. We all have a doctor, right.
Maranda Bower:
What about our emotional and our mental health as well? That should be so normalized in our world, especially from generations and generations of people who have experienced trauma after trauma. I mean, we are the generation that are breaking these patterns, that are releasing these from our bloodlines that are literally stored in the cellular infrastructure of our bodies. We are making a difference, and that's a huge burden to carry, and we're not gonna be able to do it all of our own selves. The reason why it's so hard is because we often think that we have to do it alone, and we carry this expectation that we, that we need to, and I'm telling you that is some hard work and we don't have to do that. We're all in this together, and if counseling is something that you need to be there to support you, to hold up a mirror and say, hey, what about this? Hey, how about we transform that thought into this? Or have you ever considered, or just somebody to talk to, who's going to listen and hear your story? That's fabulous, and there are times where medical intervention, such as antidepressants, might feel like a necessary step.
Maranda Bower:
But I'm going to be here to tell you, first and foremost, getting counseling and taking pills are not the only ways to heal. As a matter of fact, oftentimes they don't address the root causes. Again, going back to the root of the issue, we know pills do not address the root cause. As a matter of fact, ssris, which are targeting serotonin levels specifically for depression. We know that's not true. We know depression is not a serotonin deficiency in our body, yet we take medication as if it were. It's not addressing the root cause. There's no such thing as you just had a baby and so now you just have a chemical imbalance in your brain. That is not true. That's not how it works.
Maranda Bower:
You have heard me say repeatedly that we can absolutely see when a person is going to get depression based on their inflammatory markers within their body. That means that if somebody has inflammation in their body no matter if it's from a tooth causing them pain, or because they had major abdominal surgery ie a cesarean or because their body wasn't able to heal from a big event ie birth and that inflammation lasts a long period of time, we can predict when depression will occur. We can predict when a person is going to experience that, and that very much is so aligned with the idea that this is not about a chemical imbalance in your brain. Depression is simply a symptom of your body not getting what it needs in order to survive, whether that's external support, whether that's nervous system care, whether that's proper sleep, nourishment, whatever the case may be, those are your root causes, by the way, and that is how we're going to address it.
Maranda Bower:
So sometimes, in order to do those things and I tell you, when I was experiencing really difficult postpartum depression, the very idea of getting out of bed was something I knew I needed to do, but I didn't know how. It wasn't something that I felt like I had control over. It was. The only reason why I got out was because my son needed me, and it was bare minimum effort, right, bare minimum, and I was scared to death. I didn't know how to get my body into a different place, and so those are situations and scenarios where those pills and getting counseling might be the necessary in the moment to help cut the edge off, to take part of that edge off, so that you can go on to creating and developing a plan that's truly going to heal your body. So you don't need that, those pills or whatever it is that is supporting you in the interim. So myth number two the idea that you have to take pills and get counseling and those are your only options is completely false. Here's another one I hear all the time Postpartum depression only occurs immediately after having a baby.
Maranda Bower:
And this is really interesting because the DSM-5, so the diagnostic manual, statistical manual that professionals use to determine whether or not someone has a mental health issue or whatever the case may be, it's the diagnostic manual that professionals use Still says that, in order to have postpartum depression, that it is necessary for you to experience symptoms within the first six weeks, not anything after. Thankfully, we have a lot of training and a lot of providers out there who know better, and still, however, there is this idea, this arbitrary mark, that well, if it's not six weeks, then maybe it's just a year. And I'm going to tell you first and foremost that is also very, very false. So many women experience postpartum depression in the years after having a baby. It doesn't have to happen right away, it doesn't even have to happen in the first year. There's even something called weaning depression. That is postpartum depression. It happens during the phase of weaning our babies from breastfeeding.
Maranda Bower:
The average depression starts around four years postpartum. I want you to take that in for a second. Oftentimes we think that well, if I have postpartum depression as a mom, then it's gonna happen really early on and the stats for that is significant. It does happen really often in the first year after having a baby. Those first six months could go really really well and then all of a sudden there's a crash. We see it often at the three month mark, especially when breast milk changes. If somebody is breast feeding, there's some significant changes that occur during that time. Two-year mark is when the brain finishes. The changes that occur after having a baby, those biological, chemical, neurotransmitter changes that are occurring in your brain that you don't have any control over, take two solid years, if not longer, to process. So we really do see depression enter into motherhood at many, many different times. It is not something that has to occur immediately after having a baby.
Maranda Bower:
Here's another one, and I've already addressed this just a tad bit the idea that postpartum depression is solely caused by hormonal changes. This y'all is one of your biggest red flags. If you hear anyone tell you this run, it is not true. It is completely false. Hormone fluctuations absolutely are a massive part of postpartum. It's one of the biggest changes that are occurring within our body and it's one of the biggest hormonal fluctuations that we will ever experience in our lifetime. So definitely big, massive changes that are occurring, but they are biologically supposed to change and when those changes are not supported, then we have a system of imbalance, we have a system of dysregulation, and that is what causes postpartum depression and what in the world supports our hormonal changes, those that are biologically normal, that are supposed to happen and actually work in our favor.
Maranda Bower:
If we understood a physiological postpartum experience and the way it's meant to be we, there would be no depression. There would be a huge hormonal fluctuation that would be supported with community care and support and words of affirmation and people letting us know that we're doing a good job, and lots of nourishment. Lots of nourishment just being nourished deeply, lots of nourishment just being nourished deeply, getting the sleep that you need, because you have a community who's there to support you and help you and assist you in answering any questions you have about your baby and making sure that you are building a solid foundation and trusting your instincts and that you are feeling so good about your experiences that you're able to process the birth effectively, that you're able to calm your nervous system, that you have the tools and the coping skills to do so. That is what we need in order to regulate our hormones. Our hormones are simply responders.
Maranda Bower:
So often we focus strongly on supporting our hormones oh, I need hormone balance. Oh, I need hormone balance and we seek the supplements and we seek, you know, those things that I often call temporary fixes. If you're lucky, they don't address the root cause, which is what I just explained, which is the mama thrive method, and again I'll link that show so that you can learn more about the mama thrive method and the root cause of postpartum depression, anxiety, autoimmune issues and so much more. These changes, again, are a biological normal, not supported. Then we have a recipe for disaster because those hormones are responding to other parts of your body that are now not regulating and that are now dysfunctioning, like your nervous system, like your gut not being able to process foods as it should because it is struggling, and that's sending a warning signs to your brain, which is triggering your nervous system. You see, there's, there's so many systems that are involved. Right Then, your, your immune system is attached to that. So many aspects, so many aspects. Okay, those are some of my biggest myths.
Maranda Bower:
Here's another one, and I really, really want to address this head on the idea that postpartum depression is a sign of weakness or a failure as a parent. Oh, my word, I felt this so deeply in my own experience and that is so far from the truth. Postpartum depression, it's a medical condition. Let's be serious. It's not caused by personal weakness or failure. It's simply caused by an entire society that has no idea how to support us. You did not fail as a person. Society has failed you in supporting and helping you raise your baby. That's the truth and, dare I say, it's not even necessarily like. I hate saying this because I know it is a medical condition, but yet it's not a medical condition and maybe we should stop pathologically analyzing it as we are because it's leading us down the wrong path. It's leading us to more pills, it's leading us to this idea that it's some, we're some sort of clinical crazy house, and that's really where we have emerged from.
Maranda Bower:
I have done so much research and I've shared I did a whole episode here with you too, on the history of mental health when it comes to women and women's healthcare in general, and how that all related to postpartum and the way they used to put us in crazy institutions quote, unquote and the lobotomies all of these things so absolutely insane to think about. And yet we're still doing it. We're just doing it in a different way and we're normalizing it and calling it acceptable, and nobody should be ever feeling this way. You know the whole idea of it's it's okay that you're not okay. Well, it's not. Why in the world would it be okay that you're not okay? Yes, we all have our moments and it's okay to have a moment. It's okay to kick and scream and throw a fit on the floor. I gosh, sometimes I wish I could do that, just like my toddler, because it would be so releasing and I might. You know what? I might try that and report back to you. But we have our moments, we have our times, we have our hours, we have our days, sometimes we have our weeks. But it should not be a normal, it should not be okay. It's not okay that you're not okay. You need help, you need support, you deserve better. Okay, you deserve better.
Maranda Bower:
There's also this idea that if we have postpartum depression, that we're unfit mothers and we see this all the time, with women who are going to seek out medical care and providers saying, oh well, you can't be with your baby or institutions where, hey, I need to go be admitted for psychosis or for something really serious related to my mental health, and they taking away our babies. When that's clinically shown over and over again, we have study after study showing that that is the worst possible thing that you can do. A mother actually heals better when her baby is near and present and with her, and both are often very safe and more safe. The whole idea that we're bad mothers or that we're unfit is absolutely ridiculous. So many women are experiencing this and I know I had felt this too and I'm getting into more of like the feeling side of things when it comes to postpartum depression, but I felt so insanely alone, like I was the only person in the world who was experiencing postpartum depression, even though I knew I knew the statistics and we all do. We know, oh yeah, right, everybody is experiencing it. It's an epidemic. Chances are I'm going to experience it too, or somebody else is experiencing it, or I should just walk down to my local playground and count how many heads If there's 10 moms, chances are there's probably five plus of us that are experiencing postpartum depression. It's that much, but yet we still feel so deeply alone in our experience, and the truth is that's not the case. It's not the case. We are all in this together and we're feeling this because we're not getting the support that we so deeply need during this time.
Maranda Bower:
Okay, I am love, love busting some myths with you and I want to hear the myths that you have heard before. If you've got a myth that you can share with us, I want to hear all about it. What's a myth that you can share with us? I want to hear all about it. What's a myth that you thought maybe were true, or you hear other people think are true, that you just want to bust? Let us know. Connect in with us on Instagram and let us know, because this is a conversation that we need to have so much deeper.
Maranda Bower:
Postpartum depression is such a serious thing and if you know someone who's had a baby, please reach out to them. If you're someone who's going through that, reach out. Reach out to us. We can help find the support systems that you need in your life. Reach out to somebody that you love, that you care about. Let them know, have somebody hold your hand and walk you out of the darkness, because there is another side. It doesn't have to be this way and it is okay. You will be okay.
Maranda Bower:
What you're experiencing is not it's not motherhood. Let's stop pretending as if it were that motherhood was some yucky thing that we're all just going to have to push through and be miserable in. That's not true in the least bit. You deserve so much better and, with support and understanding, recovery is possible. There is a better way. Let's do it together. I am so grateful you turned into the Postpartum University podcast. We've hoped you enjoyed this episode enough to leave us a quick review and, more importantly, I hope more than ever that you take what you've learned here, applied it to your own life and consider joining us in the Postpartum University membership. It's a private space where mothers and providers learn the real truth and the real tools needed to heal in the years postpartum. You can learn more at wwwpostpartumucom. We'll see you next week.