The woman is stigmatized three ways. There's a stigma because it's about mental health, because it's a woman and because it's childbirth. All are weighted with unrealistic expectations and prejudices, says Honikman. The causes of postpartum depression are not fully understood. It may occur when abnormally high levels of estrogen and progesterone during pregnancy suddenly fall after childbirth.
Studies show there is an increased risk if there is a history of mental illness in the family.
But as many as 30 percent of new mothers develop more serious depressions requiring help, says Honikman. A sufferer may be hyperactive and anxious or lethargic and weepy. Some experience panic attacks. Others have nightmarish fantasies about mutilating their baby. Many suicides can be attributed to postpartum depression.