Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/745998
t m c » p u l s e | n o v e m b e r 2 0 1 6 21 Q | How did you feel about the baby after giving birth? A | Since J.J. was born early, they took him, assessed his lungs, brought him over and showed him to me, and then immediately took him to the NICU. Looking back, I think being able to hold him could have helped. I felt like the postpartum kicked in the second he came out of me. My psychiatrist came to recovery to see how I was feel- ing, and I said 'I don't want to see the baby. I don't love him. I'm not excited he's here.' Q | Did you eventually feel better about being around J.J.? A | It was weird when I saw him. I didn't feel like he was mine. I was very eager to hand him off to any and all nurses or family. I only saw him one other time before they discharged me. I never nursed him; instead, I pumped. That took a lot of pressure off of me because I didn't want to nurse. I didn't want him close to me. When he was finally released from the hospital, he joined us at my mom's house in Houston, where we were fortunate to have a night nurse to help. I let her focus on J.J. and care for him while I tended to his sisters. When it was time to return to Granbury, three weeks after J.J. was born, my family was nervous I would need more help than I realized. I hadn't spent much time with him and would suddenly be responsible for all of his day-to-day needs. My mom sug- gested we take our night nurse along, so she came back with us, full-time. I think having her there was kind of a buffer for me to further avoid my son. Q | How did your postpartum depression manifest itself once you got home? A | I was incredibly irritable and snapped at my husband and daughters. Kids are tough and you snap every once in a while, but this was constant. to Granbury, Texas, for my husband's job. It is a small town, hours from fam- ily, friends and the life to which we had grown accustomed with our first two children. We didn't know a soul. During my pregnancy with Isabella, I started seeing a reproductive therapist because of my lack of connection to my preg- nancy. When I found out I was pregnant again, that psychiatrist was the first person I emailed. We were very aware of the risk I had of developing a more severe depression than the one I man- aged day-to-day due to the hormonal, mental and physiological changes brought on by pregnancy, so we were on high alert. As expected, during this third pregnancy, I did not connect to the baby at all. I did not get excited. I didn't buy him anything. I didn't finish his nursery before he was born. My husband understood my lack of interest probably stemmed from the miscar- riages and the fact that we had not planned on having this baby. He was excited and often felt he needed to tem- per his excitement so as not to make me feel more guilty for my feelings. Q | And then the baby came early. A | When I was 33 weeks pregnant, we came back to Houston to celebrate Easter with our extended family. I was in my psychiatrist's office and she was asking how I was doing. I told her that I hadn't felt the baby move in a while, so she sent me upstairs for an evaluation by a number of specialists. They told me I was having contractions, gave me a shot and told me to stay close to the hospital if the contractions grew more frequent and painful. Eventually, I went back to the hospital and doctors discov- ered I was at a high risk for a uterine rupture. After getting a number of opinions from various doctors, special- ists and my psychiatrist, my husband and I decided it was best to have an emergency C-section. The surgery went well and our son, J.J., was born. Broker Associate ccooper@greenwoodking.com Cell: 713.254.4984 CHERYL COOPER, REALTOR ® Working with medical professionals since 1990. Now more than ever, the right agent makes all the difference. GREENWOOD KING PROPERTIES Braeswood estates Montrose Bellaire TMCx is designed to meet the needs of disruptive life science and health care startups at every stage. APPLICATIONS ARE DUE DECEMBER 1 For more information and to apply, visit: tmc.edu/innovation/apply JOIN THE TMCx DIGITAL HEALTH ACCELERATOR February 13 – June 9, 2017 S I G N S O F P O S T PA R T U M D E P R E S S I O N • Depressed mood or severe mood swings • Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, inadequacy or shame • Recurrent thoughts of harming yourself or your baby • Withdrawing from family and friends Source: The Menninger Clinic continued