blah blah

[formerfetus]

my self-esteem is about [here].
(that's me waving my palm very very close to the ground.)

my chest is clenched up and i feel like two bucks maybe, and that's only because i just took a shower

Comments

[ladydiana]

You make an excellent point but you're leaving a HUGE difference out.

When a woman gets pregnant, her body doesn't consult with her mind on whether or not this is a really good idea, should we have the baby or not, should we adopt, whatever. The body prepares itself to have the baby, including all the hormone production involved in that process required to singlehandedly nourish the baby for the next FOUR TO FIVE YEARS.

When that pregnancy ends, naturally or otherwise, full-term or otherwise, there's a huge release of hormones and production of others to do other things (such as breast-feed and survive on 2 hours of sleep a week).

Some actions, such as suckling the newborn, can assist in the production of these hormones. This is, obviously, not an option for every woman...there are miscarriages and abortions and women who can't breast-feed for other reasons.

But post-partum depression affects women who had perfectly natural pregnancies and non-drugged deliveries and healthy suckling infants, and certainly women who have had miscarriages can be VERY depressed. It's not ONLY "guilt" that makes women who've had abortions feel depressed. That may be some of it, but it's not only that.

I'm not taking sides here, I'm just trying to state a clinical fact.