Depression Versus Celebration

The physical changes and adjustments to daily life that occur during and after pregnancy are one of the most momentous events in a woman's life. The birth of new life is a truly remarkable and humbling experience. Most associate this event with celebration and happiness and many new parents are blessed with such an experience. The stress and demands of a newborn baby and the hormonal changes that occur following birth can often result in struggles with moods, anxiety, and sleep, however. The baby blues occur commonly and can unfortunately progress on to postpartum depression. 

Postpartum Depression affects some 15% of New Mothers

Pregnancy and the postpartum period can play havoc with mental health. The pressure is on new mothers to be overjoyed to bring a new life into the world, while recovering from the exhausting and painful process of giving birth. Breastfeeding can be a challenge for many and sometimes not an option due to extenuating factors or a personal decision. Most newborns don’t sleep well and need to eat every few hours as is, leading to poor sleep. Add to this an extreme change in hormone levels and it can be easy to understand how this is a high-risk time frame for postpartum depression and anxiety.  Statistics point to some 15% or more of all new mothers experiencing postpartum depression each year. This approaches one million mothers per year in the US when including miscarriage and stillbirths.

¹Other general stats that are informative regarding this condition are that postpartum depression is much more common in women who have experienced depression or other mood states previously, it tends to recur with subsequent births, and there often are preclinical signs for risk of postpartum depression during the pregnancy. All of these factors speak to the importance of being proactive and planning for treatment if risk factors are present or should depressive and/or anxiety symptoms occur in pregnancy or shortly after birth. 

Read more: TMS therapy for anxiety →

What Is Postpartum Depression?

If you have struggled with depression in the past, the heightened vulnerability of pregnancy and the postpartum period can increase the likelihood for depression. For some, however, the postpartum period can be their first experience with clinical depression. 

Symptoms of Postpartum Depression

Postpartum depression tests are available online and if symptoms above are experienced, mental health services should be sought right away. Resources such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) or their web chat at suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat are available if thoughts of suicide or psychotic symptoms occur. Additional crisis services are available through the state of CO or a mental health crisis walk-in center, or the ER in an urgent crisis. But how can we treat postpartum depression before reaching this point? 

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation-TMS Treatment for Postpartum Depression

A number of studies have pointed to TMS therapy as being a particularly effective treatment for postpartum depression.²³⁴⁵ These studies are relatively smaller in scale compared to the larger studies that have looked at response to TMS treatment in Treatment Resistant Major Depressive disorder, but are quite promising. Several involved lack of any medication use and the remission rates were 70-90%. The long-term response was similarly quite strong. And similar to larger studies using TMS for treatment resistant depression, the therapy was safe and well-tolerated. TMS provides an alternative to traditional treatment and the short treatment sessions (now even faster with theta-burst stimulation - read here for more about Theta Burst stimulation) can support new mothers getting back to a sense of mental wellbeing and enjoying motherhood.

Individualized TMS for Postpartum Depression

The team at Inspire TMS Denver offers individual consultations to explore if and how TMS could support your postpartum depression. TMS therapy offers a non-invasive and non-systemic treatment avoiding medication side effects and providing a safe treatment for mom and baby during a challenging time. If traditional treatments are not working or not an option, TMS presents a great choice for relief from depression and anxiety in the postpartum time frame. Should you elect to pursue TMS therapy for postpartum depression and associated symptoms, rest assured that Inspire TMS Denver will tailor treatment protocols to your individual symptoms and situation. More questions about TMS therapy for Postpartum depression or other information on this page? Please contact us here to see about a free consultation.