Boy, does that situation sound familiar ! Been there three times !!! Work
overload, unrealized expectations, feelings of fragmentation
and alienation from one's life. As a physician, I always hesitate to put
a psychiatric diagnosis to what seems to me as a normal reaction to a
difficult situation.
Her plan to take some time to herself is a good idea, and so is
exercising if it feels good to her. She should also eat good, nutritious
food that will feed her emotions as well as her cells (feel good, comfort
food). She should be adamant in preserving as much sleep as she can: if
Dad cannot get up to bring baby in bed, Baby should be in bed or as close
as possible (if she is culturally averse to it, call it a "survival
behavior": it works with my patients, and it worked for
me). And she should aggressively (if need be) create some "mental health
time"; if fitness classes work, fine, but if it does not, she should not
dwell on it and find something else. I find that yoga or tai-chi work
well for that matter. But, if it is vegging out in front of a favorite
video or reading Agatha Christie's books for the umpth time, it is fine
too: it has to be pleasurable, and she should not feel an obligation
(such as rushing from work to fitness to day-care to supper preparation
to bath time, to baby sleep to husband, to sleep, and so on... )

Also tell her that is IS tough, she is not crazy. Others have been
through it, have cried, yelled, tried out many ways, and found a way to
survive and, yes, eventually have fun with there family (and even make
othre babies ... but don't tell her that, yet). Good luck,
 Louise Denhez, M.D., M.P.H
Chargee d'enseignement clinique
Departement de medecine sociale et preventive