Your mental health matters. These pregnancy and postpartum depression quotes provide inspiration and support and are here to let you know you’re not alone.
Words matter.
They can be soothing antidotes in times of trouble, help us feel less alone, and provide the affirmations we may need to cultivate resilience.
These postpartum depression quotes do just that.
But before we dive in, if you are struggling with your mental health, know that help is available in various forms.
Therapy and medication — or a combination of the two — have all been proven to be effective treatments for postpartum depression.
And getting the help you need is important for both you and your baby.
The CDC offers these resources that include helplines and educational material.
If you’re at all in doubt, speak with your doctor.
And if that feels too much right now, speak to your friends, family, or Peanut community.
You are not alone.
In this article: 📝
- Is postpartum depression a chronic disease?
- Is postpartum depression predictable?
- Postpartum depression quotes
- Depression during pregnancy quotes
Is postpartum depression a chronic disease?
Chronic illnesses are defined as those that last for a year or more and require ongoing medical attention.
For some, postpartum depression can fit into this definition, with about 5% of women reporting that they experience symptoms for three years after their baby is born.
Many new mothers get what’s called “the baby blues” — feelings of sadness for a few days after giving birth.
Postpartum depression is different from this.
It’s a serious mental health condition that affects both your physical and psychological health.
If you are feeling hopeless and low for more than two weeks after you’ve given birth, it may be that you are experiencing postpartum depression.
It can cause you to feel disconnected from your baby and your own needs.
The good news is that help is available.
Antidepressants and counseling are both effective treatments.
The FDA has also approved a medication called brexanolone for the treatment of postpartum depression.
This medication is given via an IV by a doctor or nurse for about two and a half days.
The bottom line is that you have options. And you can get better.
Is postpartum depression predictable?
There are some risk factors that might make you more prone to experiencing postpartum depression.
These include:
- Previous history of depression or anxiety
- Experiencing mental health challenges during pregnancy
- Having a pregnancy that had significant risks and challenges or labor complications
- Life factors like a negative attitude towards being pregnant and fear of the stress of parenting
- The interplay of different hormones, particularly estrogen and oxytocin
- Having a baby with a low birth weight
- Becoming pregnant at a young age, with the highest risk in mothers between 13 and 19 years old
- A history of sexual abuse
There are so many reasons why postpartum depression can hit.
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And there’s nothing wrong with you if it affects you.
It’s just important that you get the help you need.
These quotes are no substitute for treatment.
But they can provide comfort while you heal and let you know that you’re not alone.
Postpartum depression quotes
- “I thought I was going to avoid [postpartum depression]. When I gave birth, the doctor told me about postpartum, and I was like, ‘Well, I’m doing good right now, I don’t think that’s going to happen.’ But out of nowhere, the world was heavy on my shoulders.” — Cardi B
- “For me, I would just wake up and feel like I was covered in tar and it wasn’t the first time I’d experienced depression, so I just thought Oh, well, this feels familiar, I’m depressed, I think[….] And then simultaneously, my personal history of depression where it was so normalized for me to be in the quicksand, as I call it, or in the tar. It does feel like tar, like everything feels heavy.” — Alanis Morisette
- “When you study postpartum depression, there is a very clear understanding that in communities where you see more support, there is less depression.” — Ariel Gore
- “This gripped my heart to such an extent that I didn’t even have the desire to try to overcome it. I mean, I was flattened by it. I was devastated by it. And it wasn’t the ‘baby blues.’ And I was told it was the ‘baby blues’ at first. And so then, what was wrong with me was even worse. I thought, ‘Well then I must epitomize failure if I can’t even get past this. […] And then we also have this image of motherhood, you know, the breastfeeding and hair cascading down and connection with the infant instantly[….] It has nothing to do with your love for [your children]. … It is something that is in your body, the loss of estrogen, the amount of hormones. … Pay attention to the feelings that you’re feeling and talk about it and ask your doctor. … Find out what medicine’s available. You don’t have to be miserable.” — Brooke Shields
- “Now let me be clear: There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking anti-depressants or any other medication prescribed by your doctor for postpartum depression or any other illness. And just like there is no one-size-fits all postpartum-depression diagnosis, there is no one-size-fits-all cure.” — Rasheeda Frost
- “Postpartum is very real. And there’s so many resources that we just have to help each other find what they are and keep getting the word out there.” — Reese Witherspoon
- “My doctor pulled out a book and started listing symptoms. And I was like, ‘Yep, yep, yep.’ I got my diagnosis: postpartum depression and anxiety. I remember being so exhausted but happy to know that we could finally get on the path of getting better. John had that same excitement. I started taking an antidepressant, which helped. And I started sharing the news with friends and family — I felt like everyone deserved an explanation, and I didn’t know how else to say it other than the only way I know: just saying it. It got easier and easier to say it aloud every time. (I still don’t really like to say, ‘I have postpartum depression,’ because the word depression scares a lot of people. I often just call it ‘postpartum.’ Maybe I should say it, though. Maybe it will lessen the stigma a bit.)” — Chrissy Teigen
- “There is hope in knowing this about postpartum depression: You are not the only one to experience this confining, crazy making inner chaos within yourself.” — Judy Dippel
- “After giving birth to my son, I had struggled with depression, and there were a lot of the same feelings I had when I was a teenager. I’d never taken care of a baby; I’d never even held a baby or changed a diaper until my son, baby Hank. I never even knew one rule or one thing to do. I really went on instincts. I think it’s important to talk about because nobody really talked about it — I didn’t know I was going to get that depressed. I would always hear about postpartum, but I never really believed it was true. There were times I couldn’t handle what I was going through. I snapped a couple times, I screamed — but I never put my baby in danger. Whenever he would take a nap, I would take it all out and cry. You can’t really control what you feel inside after you have a baby.” — Kendra Wilkinson
- “When I knew that I had postpartum [depression]… I didn’t want to admit it. It was that shame. … I told my sister about it. I told my husband about it, and I told my friends about it. They became my support system. So when I was sad or going through my emotions, I would talk about it. I didn’t suppress them. I think that helped.” — Tia Mowry
- “I had really bad postpartum depression after I had my son, and it frightened me. … My knowledge of postpartum — or postnatal, as we call it in England — is that you don’t want to be with your child; you’re worried you might hurt your child; you’re worried you weren’t doing a good job. But I was obsessed with my child. I felt very inadequate; I felt like I’d made the worst decision of my life. … It can come in many different forms.” — Adele
Depression during pregnancy quotes
If you need some support before you have your baby, here are some words that may help carry you through:
- “There’s no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one.” —Jill Churchill
- “Being a mother is learning about strengths you didn’t know you had and dealing with fears you didn’t know existed.” — Linda Wooten
- “Bad moments don’t make bad mamas.” — Lysa Terkeurst
- “Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” — Leonard Cohen
- “Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’” — Mary Anne Radmacher
- “My brain and my heart are really important to me. I don’t know why I wouldn’t seek help to have those things be as healthy as my teeth. I go to the dentist. So why wouldn’t I go to a shrink?” — Kerry Washington
- “You are the one thing in this world, above all other things, that you must never give up on … Asking for help is the first step. You are more precious to this world than you’ll ever know.” — Lili Reinhart
- “There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t.” — John Green
- “It is okay to have depression, it is okay to have anxiety, and it is okay to have an adjustment disorder. We need to improve the conversation. We all have mental health in the same way we all have physical health.” — Prince Harry
All the best, mama.
And we’ll say it one more time: you are not alone.