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I have a friend who just had her 2nd in 3 years, whose husband makes over $100,000 a year, who lives in a beautiful brand new house, whose only 'job' is to care for the kids and spend her husband's money making the house nice. She told me recently that she's suffering from PPD, how hard her life is (she is having SUCH trouble juggling the kids and the landscaper and her kitchen interior decorator) and is on medication. Maybe I'm just trying to understand.

Lisa, it's about chemical f*cking balance! I am so sick of you!! I can only a__sume you are some 90 year old woman who worked on a farm her whole life!! Depression can affect anyone - no matter how great their life may seem to you - just like any other health problem. I'm wealthy, but I have a cystic fibrosis. Gee, I guess since I have all of these nice things, I should recognize the fact that I have a health problem, that would be selfish. ...god you're a nutcase.

money does not buy happiness!! You are a cold selfish moran, You my dear need help.

Maybe you are just bitter about how much better you percieve your friends life to be, so you are projecting on all of these women. I didn't have PPD but I do understand that it is a chemical imbalance. I do not believe that it is "just occuring" because women are more "selfish". I believe that women have always been affected by PPD but up until recently, no one was concerned enough about womens' health to research it. Also you should remember what family structures used to be like. There was alot of extended family around so if things got to be too much there was a grandmother, aunt, sister, or cousin around to lend a hand. For those who did not have that type of support system, who knows how many of their children died from "SIDS"? While agree with you that many drugs are over prescribed if any of the drugs prescribed for PPD has saved even one baby isn't it worth it whether the mother was really suffering or not?

I am not a 90-year old woman, I happen to be 40 years old. Happily married, live in a nice house, pretty, with a good job, great family. And I know that happiness doesn't come from money, it comes from inside. I also know that our generation is a bunch of whining babies with no backbone and no work ethic. Our generation has it easier than any previous, yet so many need drugs to 'cope'. Please. If you all spend less time online and more time with your babies and husbands, maybe you could also spend less time on drugs. p.s. my friends was complaining last night about how she barely has the time to do laundry with the two little ones, yet somehow she had watched the Today Show every morning all week, was caught up on her S_x and the City reruns....it's all about priority and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.

Not only that, our generation has access to more information online in books, etc. than every before. Anyone who gets pregnant thinking they won't be exhausted, up all night, ready to pull their hair out, is just plain naive, stupid, whatever. You make a decision to get pregnant (even accidental pregnancies are a decision ~ a decision not to use birth control or to use something that isn't reliable) and yet so many of you just seem unable to deal with the after.....

First of all having suffered from PPD I certainly know having children is not easy and don't think taking medication for PPD makes anything easier. I live in a nice house have 2 healthy children, a college degree, and my husband makes over $150,000.00 per year. I don't think any of that has anything to do with PPD. I love my kids and my husband deeply but was depressed for almost 6 months and couldn't figure out why. All I did was cry I felt like running away from my life. I was suffering from severe PPD. I finally talked to my doctor and got counseling and put on medication. I have since been off the medication for 2 years and have had another baby. It is not something you can turn on or off. After studying Psychology in school I knew about the illness but never imagined it would happen to me. I too thought what are these women complaining about they have everything! It can happen to anyone from any race, socio-economic background, etc...... I think this is a serious disorder that women are misinformed about and I feel that some women don't speak out because there are people like some of you who are not supportive. Look at Andrea Yates she had severe PPD and Psychosis she didn't take her meds and killed her children. I am not saying any of you have it that severe but it is nothing to take lightly and if there is help out there why not get it? To Lisa who seems to be the biggest hypocrite on this site perhaps you should spend some more time with your family and stay off these sites as well. It seems you have nothing to do but torment people about a disorder you seem to know nothing about. If you are so happy in your marriage and with your family perhaps you would be a more pleasant person. It is people like you that make it difficult for women with real issues to come out. Also, since when did you receive your medical degree and have you ever studied this illness? It is not about taking care of a baby, doing laundry, bills, etc.... It is an imbalance in the serotonin levels in your brain that often are effected after giving birth do to the rise and fall of hormone levels. I don't think taking a pill is going to make the laundry disappear or solve the worlds problems but I don't think that is what any of these women are saying.

Eash succesive generation has had it "easier" than the last. Since you know there is more information available about everything then why not take the time to resaerch this one instead of coming here to b___h about a friend --real or imagined. At this point you don't sound very much like a friend, because if you truely believed all she needed was a kick in the rump ypu might be trying to help her instead of talking about her behind her back. I think it still boils down to one thing your a jealous of this woman for whatever reason and you seem to think that she is using PPD as an excuse for something. Are you bitter about the attenion she is getting? Is she prettier or smarter than you? Does she not work and you have to? Whatever issues you are having, and it is obvious that you have issues, are not her fault maybe it's time you pulled yourself up by the boot straps and face them.

Wow. You must be a psychiatrist. Actually, no I'm not jealous of her. She's at least 60 pounds overweight, whines about everything, thinks material items are the key to happiness, isn't a very happy person. I am much prettier, more successful and just a better person all around. I don't have to work. My husband can support us very well, I just am not interesting in sitting around the house all day. I just get tired of women (including her) complaining AFTER they make the choice to have children. She actually complained to me that she wants her house to be a 'showplace' like her neighbors, but with two kids, it's hard...and to tell you the truth, she's not actually a friend, she's the wife of my husban'ds friend, so I end up spending alot of time with her socially. All I am saying to these women who have had healthy babies, just think for a minute about those women who can't have children, who have handicapped children, who's husbands are stationed overseas and aren't there to help out. If you have a healthy baby and a loving husband, get a grip!!!!

Boy Lisa you seem to know it all! Women who have healthy babies need to get a grip. I suppose everyone in the world with healthy children don't have other problems? Mentally or otherwise? I don't know your friend but there are women who seriously suffer from this illness and I don't think it is a laughing matter. Sounds to me like you need to find someone better to spend your time with because I certainly wouldn't want to hang out with someone who talked the way you do about her.

You know I've been reading along with this thread and although I don't agree 100%, Lisa has some really good points. It seems that women today just want to pop a pill, whether it's to loose weight, to cope, whatever. Noone wants to work hard, or have a strong backbone, which is what life takes, no matter what your life is like. And I do agree that alot of PPD is just women who are freaking because all of a sudden, life isn't about THEM anymore. Once the focus is off of them, they search for a way to get attention. And lo and behold, PPD is it. Now they have the attention (and pampering/sympathy) of their doctors, husbands, mothers, friends again. The spotlight is back on them. Lots of women suffer the same thing after their weddings. As for hormones, as women our hormones are always in flux depending on the time of month, etc. and regulating them with medication just doesn't seem right. I am in the medical field, so I think that I am qualified to contribute.

Hmmm, I've been reading this thread for a while and wow- lots of strong opinions out there. I am sure there are some women who are of the "selfish" variety but I think they are more the exception than the rule. On the flip side, I also think that healthcare providers may be a little quick to slap on the ppd diagnosis to someone who is simply adjusting to the ma__sive lifechanging event of having a baby. It is natural for some people, like me, to feel overwhelmed and down after having a baby. It is a huge lifestyle change and responsibility. I knew that having a baby was going to turn our lives upside down when I got pregnant, but it was a challenge I was willing to accept. However, I was in no hurry to try to induce myself early or rush my pregnancy like some other people on the 3rd trimester forum. Baby still came 3 weeks early on his own accord, and I had a tough time with that. I didn't feel ready. I just wanted another week or two to tie up loose ends, finish the nursery, see friends, etc. I also missed having him inside of me- I loved being pregnant and feeling him grow and move inside of me. It was all quite a shock for me, but he had other plans for me and there was nothing I could do to change it. The doc at the hospital was quick to offer me an antidepressant given my history of depression, but I declined it since I figured it would take sometime for me and my body to adjust, and because I am b___stfeeding. Luckily I had a great nurse who talked to me about going home and the feelings I was having, and she a__sured me I was normal. It has been two weeks now and I am starting to feel better and get into a routine with baby. I still get teary eyed and anxious at times- more because I worry about failing as a mother and about something bad happening to him and us. Do I have ppd? I don't think so. I would like to think that if I started struggling to care for the baby or myself, I would seek help and take meds, if indicated. My hubby is a little worried about it, but I a__sured him I will be fine and that I am just adapting to life with Ben. And I think for a lot women, this is probably the case as well. In any case, I am overjoyed with my first child and feel extremely blessed to have him. I think if I did not feel this way, then I would need to get help immediately, and that is what I hope women who truly have ppd would do as well.

Amen to you Christy. You are a mother to look up to. You said it so well.

Re: Christy's response. This from a woman who is honest-to-goodness suffering from depression and she turned down meds because that is best for her and her baby . She understands that a little emotional turmoil accompanies pregnany/birth.

Amen to both Lisa and Christy. Oh, and to all you women who are suffering from supposed PPD, you better get ready to start prescribing your kids meds for ADHD, because I'm SURE that's what it will be when they act up and run around like maniacs, have no attention span, not that they are undisciplined and eat way too much sugar, watch too much tv and play too many violent video games, and you, their mothers, are way to permissive. It will be ADHD for sure.

Supposed PPD??? How the hell do you know? For your information I was a woman who suffered from severe PPD after my first child. It was not due to not being able to handle anything. I simply did everything for my child but was severely depressed myself. I walked around like a zombie for months not knowing what was wrong. I had a happy well behaved good baby who slept through the night and a loving husband to support me. My depression was for no known cause except PPD. I could barely get out of bed, felt like the world was coming to an end and most of all hopeless. I wasn't bored with my life or looking for a happy pill. I had serious depression. My son is now 4 years old and an aggressive normal little boy as I believe all kids his age are and I certainly would never put my him on medication for ADHD or any other of the overdiagnosed child illness. I have recovered and can handle my over active 4 year old and take insult to your comment. I am a great mom and even waited months before getting help because I didn't want to be judged by people like you! I think those of you who are on this site to judge people should stay off of this forum because some people with real problems may be coming here for support.