How to Survive Divorce During Postpartum Depression – Michigan Lawyers
How are interstate custody orders enforced? In Michigan, you were granted custody. Shared custody is ordered. The mother relocates to a different state. Parenting time privileges for Mom will remain the same as if she were still a Michigan resident.
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Mom is experiencing depression. The pregnancy is ended. The baby turns out fine and in good health. Postpartum depression is affecting the mother. Apathy toward the child is shown by the mother. How to survive divorce during postpartum depression? Dealing with Mom is not simple. If you’re a mother with postpartum depression, you must take it more slowly.
Postpartum depression: What do we know about it?
It appears after childbirth. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), psychosis, and anxiety are mood disorders. They have been included under the umbrella label “postpartum depression” or PPD. They have been popularly lumped by medical professionals and resources. Depression and anxiety following childbirth are closely associated. 15% of women are thought to experience postpartum anxiety. That number varies a bit in scientific research. This shows that it’s just as widespread as PPD. PPD has been found to affect between 10 and 20 percent of new mothers.
The “baby blues” are a period of sadness, irritability, and anger. It is mixed with irritation, hopelessness, and/or resentment. It is experienced by many new mothers in the first few weeks after giving birth. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists or ACOG has a perspective on PPD. You can feel like crying without a cause. A mother could be uncertain about raising the child. She can have difficulties falling or staying asleep. After the birth of the baby, these emotions may come and go in waves. They should eventually pass on their own within a week or two.
PPD necessitates more formal treatment like therapeutic or medical interventions. It can linger for up to a year after giving birth to your child. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has this to say. DSM-D distinguished PPD as its distinct disorder. DSM-D is akin to the medical Bible of mental health disorders. It includes the phrase “with postpartum onset.” Up until recently, PPD was essentially grouped under MDD.
Women with PPD usually describe feeling intensely overwhelmed by parenting. They may even wonder if they should have become mothers at all. The feeling of not being yourself or of being in charge despite not knowing why is another common theme. Patients claim to be emotionally numb. They claim to not feel anything. They are merely going through the motions with no interest in their children or life in general. Some mothers thought of killing themselves. Some said they have compulsions to harm their children. Postpartum depression is complex. PPD manifests itself in various ways depending on the individual. PPD can also impact new dads.
How will postpartum depression impact your divorce case?
PPD symptoms are like those of many other mental health illnesses. Mental health issues can drive tension and conflict in any marriage. If they are not addressed, a divorce may result. The societal stigma associated with PPD is starting to fade. This is thanks to the national dialogue on mental health. You may have read about horrifying tales of women who muster the strength to ask for help. They sought help only to have the police or child protective services come to their door.
An ex-spouse determined to separate you from your children can use the symptoms of PPD. It can be used as an indicator of mental problems leading to possible harm to your children. A co-parent can use this as the basis for modification of custody.
Millions of women experience postpartum depression. It is a real mental health disorder that can be successfully treated. Antidepressant medication or PPD treatment won’t harm your custody case. In reality, the opposite is true. Symptoms can worsen and adversely affect the ability to parent. Mothers should seek help. Parents seeking treatment for depression are seen favorably by the courts. A parent is unlikely to lose custody or visitation rights if they are receiving PPD treatment.
If a parent’s actions are shown to be harmful to the child or dangerous, the courts may declare them “unfit.” This can include, among other things, acts of cruelty, neglect, abuse, and drug use. It can refer to incarceration, serious mental disease, domestic violence, and poor judgment. Untreated PPD symptoms can add to an environment that is abusive and neglectful. Or, otherwise dangerous. When PPD drives these conditions the courts take a PPD diagnosis into account. It considers them when making a decision.
The court can restrict parenting time. The court can order visitation to be under the supervision of a professional. This is a professional designated by the court if a parent refuses to seek treatment for PPD. The court orders this if symptoms are affecting their capacity to parent.
Postpartum depression is also a condition that affects fathers. The first six months after the birth of the child also affects the father. 25% of American males can exhibit symptoms of postpartum depression. This is the conclusion drawn from a study by Eastern Virginia Medical School. The study was looking into similar postpartum depression in mothers. Paternal postpartum depression can have detrimental impacts on children and relationships if untreated. The court may take PPD into account when determining custody and access rights.
A parent with PPD can refuse to get help. Untreated symptoms can worsen. It can turn into a dangerous mood disorder like postpartum psychosis. The court will step in to ensure the children’s safety and well-being.
How do you live through postpartum depression during the divorce?
Seek out professional help. You feel odd and your emotions of anxiety or sadness are keeping you from functioning. It’s affecting you day to day for longer than two weeks. If you’re not ready for professional help, start by telling someone. Start with someone you can trust how you’re feeling. This might be a friend, relative, doula, or medical expert. You don’t need to be able to diagnose yourself, but you should be able to distinguish between a cold and the flu. In other words, you are in the best position to judge what is or is not normal for you.
Find a medical professional. A specialist in the determination and treatment of anxiety and perinatal mood disorders. Got to a pediatrician or obstetrician. Talk to your obstetrician about your condition. Mention if you experienced anxiety, depression, or both during pregnancy. Declare this if you have ever had a diagnosis of both, one, or both of these problems before becoming a parent. A woman is 50% more likely to experience PPD. She can have postpartum anxiety in a second pregnancy if she had it in her first pregnancy. You may not have either with your first child or children. You could still get it with later pregnancies.
If you are in a middle of a divorce, your attorney should already be talking to your medical specialist. Your attorney should already have a grasp of your condition as explained by your doctor. Medical notes and documents are helpful. It can support your defense or response against claims about your mental health.
There is treatment available for both postpartum depression and anxiety. Seek out these treatments because you deserve them. To cope with PPD and/or anxiety, some women may find help in one-on-one therapy. Some can benefit from support groups, and/or medication. A reproductive psychiatrist might be useful to a patient.
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