MorenoI--Thank you for sharing that experience. I admire you greatly for doing so. It's hard for many to comprehend. I had three babies by birth and was thankfully spared but one of my daughters-by-marriage experienced it. She is the sweetest and most loving mother and yet when her first little guy was about 5 weeks old, she lost it. I remember her calling me at 3 am (our son was working) and crying. I couldn't even understand her. I was not sick yet and raced over there. She was a literal mess. The baby was screaming, she was crying, the house was a mess, and she wasn't eating (but was nursing non-stop). I fed her, calmed her down, put her in a big coat and sent her to sit on the porch to "breathe". I cleaned the house, settled the baby (he was upset because his Momma was) and waited for my son to come home. Next day, she got on meds and was back to normal within three weeks. We all pitched in during those three long weeks. I thank God to this day that she called. I'll never forget how ashamed she was.
And there's nothing shameful about it. How I wish more doctors (midwives already do) would talk to their patients about this very real possibility. Our daughter didn't suffer from it during her second pregnancy and the third baby, a little girl, died shortly after birth (with a disorder possibly connected to mine). She grieved terribly, as we all did, but it was very different than PPD. Our grandsons are doing very well.
More women need to speak up about this "secret" problem. It's not all rainbows and lollipops, that's for sure. Nothing is when hormones are involved. American women are so often cut off from their female relatives and support system and are terribly isolated after birth. All many know is the fantasy where we're supposed to just go skipping into the sunset with our beautiful and happy baby but that's so rarely the case. When reality is different, we think we've failed in some way.
As to this woman, my guess is that the meth seriously affected her hormones and sense of reality. This baby needs to be in a safe place. Why these babies are released from the hospital to moms "on the edge" is beyond me. If anyone sees an update, please post.
