Having been a mother who struggled for many months with PP Psychosis, I can
tell you honestly that it is a horror.  The biggest fear I faced (and am
sure this is the same with others) is that IF I said anything like "I look
at my baby and he looks like the devil and is telling me to do these weird
things," that someone would take him away from me.  So, I said nothing and
suffered in silence.  Thankfully, I did not listen to the voices, and kept
trying to see my child not as the devil, but as the beautiful baby he was.
(the visions were sporadic, not constant)  He is now 13 yrs old and a joy
(most of the time! :D)

Moms who are suffering from mild PPD to severe PP psychosis are often afraid
of they tell someone what they are going thrrough they will have their child
taken away from them.  I realize that for the most part it is an unfounded
fear, but when your brain is not working right, you don't know who to trust
or believe.  So we will hide it and appear to be "normal" and some of us
make it, some of us don't.

Sometimes the signs are all there for everyone to see: Exhaustion, typical
signs of depression, anger for no apparent reason, uncontrolable crying, too
much cheerfulness (my mom used to always ask me why was I so "cheery" all
the time - not normal for me...), saying things like "I get so mad I want to
throw this kid out the window when he cries" and baby is only a few
days/weeks/months old, and there are more.  The signs are there - the
problem is no one knows what they are, and/or no one wants to face the fact
that their loved one may need some help.  Now, if she had been getting the
help she needed from the beginning (like someone to tend to her every need
for the first several weeks, pp) then it is my opinion that not only would
the PPD be less extreme (I believe that it would still happen with many
women even if they had as much help as they needed) but the signs of
distress may be caught more easily, or at the very least, if the woman is in
jeopardy of harming herself or her baby at least there would be someone
there to stave that off (not many will abuse or harm right in front of
someone else...).

Women without adequate help who are in a stressful situation - 3 older
children, newborn twins, BF problems, unsupportive angry husband,
unsupportive family, for example - are really at risk.

Now, the big question:  How do we help them before they go off the deep end?
Education prenatally?  Education PP?  Follow-ups by HCPs? When we come into
contact with a mom and WE see that she is suffering from PPD, how do we
respond?  Contact her spouse/partner?  Contact her Dr?  There is only so
much support we can give to her to help her through this time, and I can
guarantee you it is not enough.

Jay
Been there - done that - twice.
Jay Simpson, CLE
Sacramento, California, West Coast, USA
"No Miracles performed here, just a lot of love and hard work."