Recently, celebrities like Hayden Panettiere and Drew Barrymore have opened up about their struggles with postpartum depression. Of course, this awareness is a good thing, but many moms are still being undiagnosed for another type of depression: maternal depression.
Postpartum depression affects up to 16 percent of mothers and can occur up to a year after giving birth, or even months later. Maternal depression, which is equally serious yet receives less attention, often goes undiagnosed. In fact, a study in the journal BJOG suggests that depression is actually more common four years after giving birth than at any other time during the first year.
Cris Evert Ruffolo, 29, was diagnosed with postpartum depression after having her twins, but she continued to suffer with depression after they turned a year old. After uprooting her family from the Philippines to China and more recently to Kalispell, Montana, Chris said the lack of family and social support has left her feeling overwhelmed, irritable and angry.
“There are feelings of despair and hopelessness that always crop up from time to time [too],” she said.
Although her husband supports her, lets her sleep in late and does a lot of the household chores, she craves time alone to read, get a coffee or do activities that she used to enjoy before having her children.
“I love seeing my kids but I can’t wait to be away from them,” she said.
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