New moms and their struggle with depression and anxiety

Listen 00:48:44

Guests: Neill Epperson and Karen Kleiman

Postpartum depression is more prevalent then you might think.  Around one-in-seven women suffers from it. They may feel overwhelmingly sad, guilty, extremely anxious or even suicidal. Yet there remains a lot of stigma around it which can prevent women from seeking help. Earlier this year a government-appointed panel recommended, for the first time, that all women be screened for depression during pregnancy and after giving birth.  This hour we’ll talk about postpartum depression — what it feels like, why it happen, and how it can be treated. Marty’s guests are NEILL EPPERSON, professor of psychiatry and obstetrics/gynecology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and KAREN KLEIMAN, founder and executive director of the Postpartum Stress Center.  And we’ll hear from Philadelphia mom Lindsey Love, who spoke with producer Elizabeth Fiedler about her struggles with postpartum depression.

Radio Times producer Elizabeth Fiedler interviewed Lindsey Love, a South Philadelphia woman who struggled with postpartum depression and anxiety after the birth of her son. In their interview Love recounts the moment when she finally got help, after months of wondering if she just wasn’t cut-out to be a mother.

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