by Susan M. Heim
According to the National Organization of Mothers of Twins Clubs (NOMOTC), more women suffer postpartum depression (PPD) after giving birth to multiples than do women who have singletons. In a study conducted by the NOMOTC, 11% of women developed PPD after their singleton birth, but 33% experienced PPD after a birth involving multiples. For those who had given birth to both singletons and multiples, 72% of the women felt their depression was longer and deeper after having multiples than after their singleton births.
Unfortunately, studies have failed to pinpoint a reason for these findings. One reason might be larger fluctuations in hormone levels after a multiple-birth pregnancy. Many of these pregnancies are the result of fertility treatments, which can also affect hormonal levels. The NOMOTC found that when women used fertility medications to become pregnant, 40% of them experienced depression for longer than two weeks.
It's important to distinguish postpartum depression from "postpartum blues," which are much more common. Generally, the blues last less than two weeks and are accompanied by irritability, mood swings, fatigue, appetite fluctuations, and trouble concentrating. The NOMOTC found that 40% of women experienced the "blues" after a multiple-birth pregnancy. (Only 22.5% got the blues after a singleton pregnancy.) However, 20% of those moms of multiples who started out with the blues later developed major depression.
The scariest findings of the study indicate that a large number of women fail to get help when they're experiencing PPD. Forty-nine percent of those who had five or more symptoms of PPD failed to tell their doctors. Treatment may involve medication, counseling, or a combination of both. Experts also advise women with PPD to network with other mothers who are in similar situations. Mothers of twins or multiples may find this type of support in a multiples' support group. If you're experiencing symptoms of postpartum blues or depression, please report it to your doctor right away so you can receive the relief and the help you need-and start enjoying life with your new multiples!
Information obtained from "Postpartum depression and multiples," by Rebecca Moskwinski, MD, TWINS Magazine, Sept./Oct. 2007.
Comments
postpartum
I was completely stunned when I got home with my preemie twins. I had a vertical cut in my stomach with 30 staples in it trying to hold my body together. My husband was working, truly, 15 hours a day. I was alone, alone, alone. After everyone got their glimpses of my babies, no one offered any help or food. My postpartum was over-whelming. It lasted for years until I finally went to a neurologist because of constant migraines. The doctor told me that I was clinically depressed stemming from postpartum. Now, I still get all my diagnoses confused because I could not think straight. But I know I lost such a wonderful part of my life and my girls' lives.
If I can offer any advice it would be this: read about postpartum depression and "the baby blues." Share that information with your loved ones because when you are in the middle of a depression you don't know you are depressed. If my husband or mom or sister had known about this issue then, I could have gotten help sooner. I didn't know what was wrong with me. I didn't know why I wanted to sleep so much. I didn't know why I had no appetite. So give that job to your husband, family, friends. You will, literally, have your hands full. And there is a cure for postpartum depression.