Do women suffer postpartum depression, even after a miscarriage?
My friend was 21 weeks pregnant with twins & had a miscarriage April 15. She tells me that she’s depressed. Is this grief, postpartum, or a mixture of both? She told me that within the past 2 weeks, she had a CRAZED sexual desire, & then she feels guilty & wants to stop JUST before he gets ready to penetrate her, attempting to have sex again, & her partner gets frustrated because he thinks she’s playing with his emotions.
He loses his temper like a spoiled rotten child! She tries to explain to him that she’s feeling depressed or whatever, & he thinks she’s just making excuses to not have intercourse with him. She asked me for advice & said that it’s getting to be problematic in their relationship. I don’t know what to tell her. So she told me to ask people with experience on here.
Tagged with: after • Depression • Even • Miscarriage • Postpartum • Suffer • Women
Filed under: Miscarriage Depression
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I think that post-partum depression and post-miscarriage depression are two different things.
You are sad for a different reason.
Parents who lose their children in a miscarriage are greiving their loss.
Post-partum depression moms are suffering a temporary chemical imbalance, which is also perfectly normal.
But they aren’t “greiving”
postpartum depression is after you give birth… but a miscarriage is a horribly emotional and depressing time for a woman! Her grief is just as real as postpartum depression. And, yes, I agree about him being a spoiled rotten child. He just needs to be supportive right now. Having sex for her most likely reminds her of getting pregnant, and that’s tough.
She’ll be in my thoughts
yes … found a link for you
Depression after a miscarriage is even worse than postpartum depression because there is also mourning involved. When a woman has a miscarriage her body is not “ready” to have the baby meaning that the endorphins that take over to relieve the pain and make a euphoric feeling were not developed yet.
When a full term healthy baby is born there is something to be happy about…not so with a miscarriage, it’s like part of your body dying.
I never had a miscarriage but been around lots of them in the process when working in OB. She might need to go to the doc and get some medication for depression. There are a lot of different ones available and if one doesn’t work, tell her to try another till she gets the right one.
I don’t know if it would be called postpartun depression because that usually involves / affects caring for the child after childbirth.
However your friend certainly could have the physical vitamin deficiencies that many women who have Post Partum Depression do.
Her depression could be a mixture of the physical things her body is going through and the deep grief she must be feeling.
I know she does not know me but please tell her how very sorry I am about her loss.
See if you can encourage her to visit her doctor. He may be able to help with the physical part of her depression at least.
I am praying for the best for you and her.
Yes, depression after a miscarriage can be something related to postpartum depression. Her body was once pregnant, with hormones changing, losing a pregnancy causes hormones to go completely off balance. Just as after you give birth your body has to readjust to not being pregnant, and it can take a while for the hormones to regulate again. In addition to dealing with hormones, she is also dealing with a loss. Postpartum depression is not just the “baby blues” of caring for an infant. Doctors are still not sure of all of the components involved with postpartum depression. But I will tell you this: it is just not one thing. It is hormone changes, it is your body adjusting, it is the change in lifestlye and caring for a baby. With a miscarriage, you have all of those things except the baby. Which I believe makes postpartum depression after a miscarriage worse. Your friend needs to have a talk with her husband about what she is going through. She needs to show him that postpartum depression after a miscarriage is real, and that she needs his support. He also may still be grieving. After all she was very far along for a miscarriage. After a miscarriage, sex can remind you of what you lost, and the reminder can be too painful. In time, sex will return to where it was before, but her husband will have to demonstrate patience. She needs to take care of herself so the depression does not spin out of control. I suggest she also sees a therapist since it seems her husband has been unable to support her. The therapist can also help her help her husband understand what she is going through. She is not alone, postpartum depression after a miscarriage is real, and happens to many women including myself. And if her husband or anyone else on this site needs proof, just look it up on webMD or wikipedia, both sites say that it can happen after a miscarriage as well.
If you are saying that you cannot have postpartum depression after a miscarriage you are nuts. You so can. Just because the baby is gone does not mean that you do not still have all of the hormones that are involved with being pregnant. You still have them and it can take months before your body realizes it is no longer pregnant. That on top of a grief beyond what anyone should have to feel can make one depressed. It is just not about being sad, there is so much more involved. So for whoever said it is just sadness is utterly wrong. Women who suffer ppd after childbirth have a chemical imbalance and so do women who experience miscarriage. Those hormones don’t just disappear. You have obviously never had a miscarriage. Keep your uniformed opinions about chemical imbalances to yourself.