For millions of women, the minute they give birth, they’re filled with incredible joy, and their instinct is to protect their babies at all costs. However, 1 in 7 women will develop postpartum depression and anxiety after having a baby, and some women even develop postpartum psychosis. New moms may have fantasies of escaping their reality, panic attacks, hallucinations, and worst of all, may kill their children. Many women have no history of mental health issues and are too embarrassed to talk publicly about this, fearing they will be judged as bad moms. However, they all say it’s time to discuss this openly and remove the “baby blues” stigma, as the seriousness can go way beyond that.

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If you or anyone you know is struggling with a perinatal mental health condition, please call the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-943-5746 (1-833-9-HELP4MOMS), or Postpartum Support International at 1-800-944-4773 (1-800-944-4PPD).

A graphic with steps to recover from ppd.
"Dr. Phil"