Bolstering the Baby Blues with Cannabis

Struggling mothers suffer through the baby blues often undiagnosed and untreated due to embarrassment, stigmatism and lack of medical coverage.  These uncontrollable feelings of sadness typically begin 2-5 days after giving birth and often resolve within 10-14 days.  The physical complications include bouts of gushing tears, deep sadness, anxiety, irritability, sleep disturbances, fluctuating appetite, brain fog and fatigue.  Mothers find themselves overwhelmed and seeking answers; some of them turn to medical marijuana to gain relief from the aforementioned symptoms.  In her book, Down Came the Rain…, Brook Shields was candid with her feelings as she explained, “I thought I might try to escape or wouldn’t be able to stop myself from swallowing a bottle of pills. I even thought I’d welcome being kidnapped. These were strange, irrational fears that still felt real to me.”

Although the baby blues seem mild and short-lived, postpartum depression, “PPD can occur in females having depression and anxiety in any trimester of pregnancy,” but “most commonly occurs within 6 weeks after childbirth. PPD occurs in about 6.5% to 20% of women. It occurs more commonly in adolescent females, mothers who deliver premature infants and women living in urban areas.”  Ultimately, it can begin days, weeks or even months after a woman gives birth. PPD “is hard to describe—the way the body, mind and spirit fracture and crumble in the wake of what most believe should be a celebratory time,” Bryce Dallas Howard.

Women are often blindsided with the symptoms and have to gain the courage to speak about the condition.  PPD does not discriminate, it can surface in women of any race, from friends and loved ones to those with celebrity status. “The pathogenesis of postpartum depression is currently unknown. It has been suggested that genetics, hormonal and psychological, and social life stressors play a role in the development of PPD.”  After gaining an understanding of the condition, women are forced to speak up if there’s going to be any hope for recovery.

 

What are the symptoms of PPD?

• Depressed mood (subjective or observed) is present most of the day
• Loss of interest or pleasure, most of the day
• Insomnia or hypersomnia
• Psychomotor retardation or agitation
• Worthlessness or guilt
• Loss of energy or fatigue
• Suicidal ideation or attempt and recurrent thoughts of death
• Impaired concentration or indecisiveness
• Change in weight or appetite (weight change 5% over 1 month)

Common treatments include psychotherapy, antidepressants and in some cases, even narcotics.  Medical marijuana became a frontline treatment for women who sought out a natural remedy and Celia Behar is one of them. “What it feels like to me is that in that time of my life, I was living in black and white,” says Behar. “And when I started using cannabis, it felt like living in Technicolor. Even just getting sleep changed the anxiety. Everything shifted. I didn’t feel high. I wasn’t stoned. I just felt leveled out and even.”  Physicians note that it’s imperative to get good sleep, as that alone can be a major obstacle for all new mothers.

“I was confronted with one of the darkest and most painfully debilitating chapters of my life.” In an interview with Good Housekeeping, Gwyneth Paltrow elaborates, “I felt like a zombie. I couldn’t access my heart. I couldn’t access my emotions. I couldn’t connect. It was terrible.”

One of the best medical marijuana strains often used by patients to relieve insomnia as well as other symptoms associated with PPD is Skywalker OG.  “As a new mom, Lauder says, cannabis along with yoga and meditation, helped her interrupt the ‘feedback loop’ of anxiety and spiraling thoughts,” and Samantha Montanaro explained that medical marijuana use “during the postpartum period was ‘an absolute savior,’ easing her sadness and helping to stabilize her emotions.”

Now that medical marijuana is legal in many areas, at least one doctor has been advocating and prescribing it to her PPD patients, as she realizes the numerous benefits of the cannabinoids.  According to Dr. Chin, “cannabis can alleviate many of the symptoms that women experience – sadness, anxiety, insomnia, loss of appetite. It carries no risk of a lethal overdose. In fact, women can control their own dosing as needed. And its potential for addiction has been rated lower than caffeine. Since PPD is not a qualifying condition, Dr. Chin often uses a chronic pain diagnosis, which is approved in every legal state, and which, she says, all moms have.”  Physicians might suggest hybrid cannabis strains like Sunset Sherbet, as it could target and alleviate many PPD symptoms.

Lisa Rinna described her PPD as she explained, “I made Harry hide all the sharp knives and take the gun out of the house because I had visions of killing everybody. Now how horrific is that? I wanted share it because I think women are so shamed by this and feel so horrible… I found help and got through it.”