Postpartum Depression

Amy had undergone 10 years of infertility treatments. She got married later in life and dreamed of bringing a new baby into her loving home. With each unsuccessful and painful attempt, Amy became more determined to get pregnant. When she finally became pregnant, Amy and her husband Simon were overjoyed.. three months later she miscarried. Finally, she got pregnant again, this time with twins. Their family would finally be complete!

Unfortunately, the babies were born prematurely. The 3 weeks the babies spent in the hospital were very frightening and exhausted. By the time Amy, Simon and the babies were home from the hospital, Amy had sunk into a deep depression. She did not want to hold her babies. She was afraid to be in the same room with them. She would cry all day and began to talk about giving the babies away. When Amy began to talk about driving her car into traffic and dying, her husband reached out to Jewish Family Service’s New Moms Connect Program for help. Amy was immediately referred to a psychiatrist to assess her for suicidality. She spoke with a warmline volunteer who provided Amy with assistance in getting in-home help with the babies. She began attending support groups where she could share her feelings with other moms and started medication and individual therapy sessions. Soon after, Amy began to feel better. Recently, Amy came in to see her therapist. “Something incredible happened this week. I have fallen in love with my babies. I didn’t believe I would ever feel this way!”

Her therapist reflects on this experience and says: "This is what keeps me coming to work every day!"

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