Home FYI .
People expect the birth of a new human being to be a joyous high point in life.
But sometimes, for the mother, bringing home a new baby can be anything but that. Many women, something like 50 percent to 80 percent, feel some sadness shortly after delivery, according to Eileen Connell, a nurse and counseling psychologist at the Center for Women's Health at the Shawnee Mission Medical Center. An estimated 10 percent to 20 percent of women plunge into a much deeper despair in the weeks after childbirth. Like other depressed people, they typically experience changes in eating and sleeping patterns, feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, a lack of interest in or pleasure from activities that are usually gratifying. Unlike other depressed persons, however, they must contend with the rigorous demands of a newborn.