How many women suffer from PPD?
It is the most common serious complication of pregnancy. Twenty percent of new mothers suffer from it. In high stress environments, like the inner city, the rate can reach 40%. Given four million births in the U.S. each year, there are between 400,000 and 800,000 new cases of PPD in the U.S. each year. The rates are different in different populations. This is a disease that is fueled by stress. Some populations may have rates as high as 30%. Many women are surprised by how common the disease is. Intense feelings of shame and fear of stigma make such women extremely reluctant to talk about it, even with other members of their families, their closest friends, and most of all their health care professionals. Some have learned to cover up their symptoms when in public, even in their doctors’ offices. This tendency has led some to label PPD as “the smiling depression”. While the common term for this illness is postpartum depression many women actually suffer from severe anxiety disorders su
