Sesame Street Blog

If you’ve had a chance to click deeper into our “Sesame Family Robinson” site, you might have noticed that March was a tough month for me.  After I gave birth, my hormones went on a rollercoaster dive unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I was a prime candidate for a massive crash. I’d gone through three failed IVFs (in vitro fertilizations) over three years. When I became pregnant with twins, my body went into hormone overdrive. At 36 weeks, I got preeclampsia, which gave me high blood pressure. I failed to be induced, so I had a C-section.   And if that wasn’t enough, I hemorrhaged, so I had to have a blood transfusion. At this point, my body didn’t know which way was up or down. Can you blame it for getting very, very depressed?

Well I did, for a little while. I had twins; I didn’t have time for Postpartum Depression. The good news is there are many enlightened people in the world who have shown us very publicly this happens and you just need to get help. I was on blood pressure medication for three months after I gave birth, and recently weaned myself off the antidepressant I was given to help with the PPD.

I can happily say that it really is all behind me now. When I was in the lower depths back in March, I could only see the dark mold on the tree bark, forget even attempting a forest. It took awhile to get my chemicals back in balance, but I’d been confusing them for many years, so they just needed time.

I think it’s important to know how many women talked to me about their own postpartum depression. Not a just a few women, about 40 have cornered me to say they had some kind of PPD, mild or severe. I think it’s perfectly normal for all women after giving birth and utterly changing their lives to have some major highs and lows. And if you need help, go and get it. No judgments.

I can also proudly say I surprised my hypertension doctor last week. He felt certain I’d have to stay on blood pressure medication indefinitely because of the preeclampsia. But I really wanted off it and let my body try to return to normal on its own. I’ve had the same 110/60-ish pressure since early May. I say, “Ha!” For me, the answer is—exercise. It seems to be the answer to a lot of things.

The trouble is finding the time to exercise!