Is it Baby Blues or Postpartum Depression?

May 9, 2019

When you're pregnant, it's hard to imagine feeling anything but blissful when your baby arrives. However, because mom's hormones are out of order after the birth, a lot of new mothers find themselves sad, angry, anxious or all of the above. The baby blues are perfectly normal, but if your symptoms don't go away after a few weeks or get worse, you may be suffering from postpartum depression.

While postpartum depression is different from baby blues, the symptoms of each are very similar, and it's very easy to confuse them. Help distinguish between the two with this cheat sheet.

Baby-Blues-1 (2)

Part of being a good mother means taking care of yourself. So, if you are experiencing symptoms of postpartum depression, anxiety, or OCD - including excessive or uncontrollable crying, difficulty bonding with your baby, overwhelming fatigue, withdrawal from your family and friends, severe anxiety, panic attacks or thoughts of harming yourself or your baby -- please call your doctor right away.

You are not alone. Help is available.