Postpartum depression (PPD) is treatable, but finding the right treatment — and getting the most benefit from it — can take some time.
Treatment options may include prescription medications, psychotherapy (talk therapy), lifestyle changes, and social support — or a combination of these — but there isn’t one single approach that works for everyone. Your healthcare team will work with you to shape your treatment plan depending on your symptoms and circumstances.
What you do alongside your treatment matters, too. Certain strategies can help you get the most out of your treatment. Here are six expert tips on how to do that.
1. Track Your Symptoms and Communicate With Your Healthcare Team
Communicating openly about your symptoms, how they’re affecting your daily functioning, and how you’re responding to treatment is crucial, says Lulu Zhao, MD, an obstetrician-gynecologist and the codirector of women’s behavioral health at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, where she specializes in mood disorders during key reproductive transitions, such as pregnancy and postpartum.
Your healthcare provider can only work with the information you give them. “If you don’t tell us, we’re not going to know. That transparency and communication is very key,” Dr. Zhao says.
Keep a record of your symptoms, along with other factors such as how much you’re sleeping, how much you’re eating, your stress levels, and what happened that day, says Laudy Burgos, LCSW, a board member of Postpartum Support International and the associate director of social work in the women’s and children’s division at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.
“Track, just for three days, what you do in the day, when your symptoms are worse, when they’re better,” Burgos says. “Tracking is important, not just to get treatment and medication, but also for your therapist to really help you. It gives [them] key information.”
You may begin to notice patterns, such as symptoms consistently worsening in the morning after your partner leaves for work, Burgos says. You may also note how stressors like job loss, marital struggles, or a lack of social support are affecting you — all of which are risk factors for PPD, she says.
2. Give Medication Time to Work
It can feel discouraging to start an antidepressant and not immediately feel better, but it can take time for these medications to work.
Antidepressants often don’t take effect immediately, Burgos says. “Sometimes people get frustrated if after two days they don’t see a difference,” she says.
Instead, you may notice small changes, such as slightly better sleep or energy, within one to two weeks, she says. But noticeable improvements in mood may take between four to eight weeks. And at the eight-week mark, your provider will have a clearer idea of how effectively a medication is working.
There’s also an important caveat to keep in mind: A true medication trial means taking an appropriate therapeutic dose for long enough to see how it’s affecting you, Zhao says. Starting doses are sometimes deliberately low to reduce initial side effects, which are common with antidepressants, and then increased shortly after by your provider, she says.
Don’t increase, decrease, or stop medication on your own. Talk with your healthcare provider about side effects or symptoms so they can decide whether increasing or lowering the dose, switching antidepressants, or adding therapy may help, Zhao says.
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