Normal adjustment: Crying / tearfulness, irritability, anger, sleep disturbance, fatigue, dysphoria (sadness), appetite changes, loss of interest in formerly favorite things/activities, anxiety, emotional lability (moodiness), feelings of doubt, postpartum exhaustion (denial of depression/anxiety, feeling overwhelmed, unable to sleep/rest, head or stomach aches)
Postpartum emotional disorders: Postpartum depression (worsening of baby blues or normal adjustment symptoms); postpartum panic (new onset of panic attacks, extreme anxiety, dizziness, shaking, difficulty breathing); postpartum mania (feeling sped up, decreased need for sleep, distractibility, pressured speech, irritability, excitability); postpartum obsessive?compulsive (repetitive/intrusive thoughts, unwelcome and repulsive/shocking thoughts "out of the blue," avoidance common, ritual rare); postpartum stress (panic attacks related to trauma, past or current)
Postpartum psychosis: Any symptoms listed above, plus confusion, hallucinations, delusions
Adapted from The Postpartum Survival Guide: It Wasn't Supposed to Be Like This, Anne Dunnewold and Diane Sanford, New Harbinger Publications, 1994.
For more information on Jane Honikman or to get PPD support visit Postpartum Support Internation http://www.postpartum.net/