Most new parents are aware of the early warning signs of postpartum depression (feelings of anger, anxiety, guilt and hopelessness to name but a few.) But as Chrissy Teigen knows first-hand, the timing isn’t always so clear cut.
Speaking with Yahoo Lifestyle, the actress and model revealed that it wasn’t until a few months after her daughter Luna arrived back in 2016 that she first started feeling the symptoms.
When asked if she was experiencing the condition the second time around (Miles was born in May), she admitted she was still waiting to see.
“That’s what I’m still wondering now, honestly,” she said. “I’m three months out with Miles. And when I hit that point with Luna, it was at this time. Around three months.”
And while postpartum depression has become more widely talked about in recent times, many of us don’t realise that the effects can be delayed.
“I think what people don’t know is that sometimes it takes time to kick in,” Chrissy said. “You just don’t know what’s gonna happen. I don’t know what next week is gonna be like. You take it day by day.”
But thanks to her previous experience, Chrissy feels way more prepared for baby number two.
“I feel like at least now if it does happen, I’ll know it upon the first time I feel it. Rather than wondering for so long why I was feeling like that.”
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, PPD most commonly begins between a week and month and a month post-childbirth, with 15 per cent of women affected. That said, it can occur anytime in the first year after having a baby.
“It is not always obvious and often at first many mothers put how they are feeling down to tiredness and adjusting to parenthood, therefore sometimes not realising that they could be developing postnatal depression,” midwife Kate Pinney told The Independent.
“It is really important for any parent experiencing changes in their mood to seek support and talk to someone, whether that be their GP, midwife or health visitor.”
This article originally appeared on Women’s Health
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