PPD occurs in between 6.5% and 20% of
women, most commonly within six weeks
after childbirth, according to the National
Institutes of Health. Payne says 10 to 15%
of women get sick with PPD within the
immediate postpartum period.

Postpartum depression can be com-
pounded by other factors as well.

Anneliese Lawton, 33, felt defeated,
overwhelmed and angry after combat-
ing PPD following the birth of her first
two children, and during her pregnancy
with her second.

Lawton’s second pregnancy was
complicated by a tumor, which was
wrapped around some of her facial
nerves— risking paralysis.

It wasn’t until after the birth of her
second child that she suffered a
breakdown, but Lawton says she survived,
learned to love herself and allowed herself
to be the mother she wanted to be.

Successful You” and through founding
the Renewed Freedom Center and Little
Thinkers Center.

‘You Can’t Self-Care
Yourself out of Trauma’
According to Lawton, it’s important for
mothers to get the help they need.

“You can’t self-care yourself out of
trauma. A bubble bath and getting your
nails done won’t fix it. It’s helpful in pre-
vention and recovery, but there’s a point
where you need the additional help. Don’t
be afraid to ask for that help,” she says.

That said, taking steps to reduce exter-
nal pressures can be beneficial. Social
media is a major component of why moth-
ers today feel so much pressure, she adds.

“We’re comparing ourselves to celebri-
ties and the moms down the street and in
our schools. I grew up in the 90s. We were
bombarded with what the perfect woman
was and what she looked like,” Lawton
says. “I feel like so many of us pivoted and
changed ourselves to fit a certain mold,
stuff that we saw on TV.”
MARIA PILAR MARTINEZ AGUERRI / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS
The Perfect Storm
Jenny Yip, a psyschologist and mother
of 7-year-old twins, says the postpartum
period can be a “perfect storm” for
other mental health conditions as well.

Factors typically thought to contribute to
women developing postpartum depres-
sion, and other related disorders such as
postpartum anxiety and OCD, include
genetics, hormones and environmental
stressors, explains Yip, who experienced
postpartum OCD.

“I didn’t realize it was OCD in the begin-
ning until one of my colleagues pointed out
to me that it sounded like OCD,” Yip says.

Some of the early warning signs of post-
partum depression, according to Yip,
include changes in appetite or sleep and not
feeling like yourself. Another early warning
sign more specific to postpartum OCD is
intrusive mental images or thoughts about
catastrophic consequences or harm to you
or your baby.

Through exposure therapy, in which
“you expose yourself to the feared conse-
quence so you get corrective feedback, so
the fear isn’t as daunting,” Yip says, she
found a way to manage her OCD. She now
helps others through her book “Productive,
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