Wings of a Bird

Postpartum depression - by Susan Paynter, P-I columnist
... Soon after she gave birth, Lane's moods were erratic and frightening. She felt pulled down by gravity. Her head burst with pictures of horrible things happening to her child.
"I felt disconnected from her. I resented her," she said. "I didn't want to be around my own baby, and it scared me so much I held her all the time, thinking, 'What kind of a person would feel this way?' It's such a natural thing to be a mom; everybody does it."
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Then her son was born, and she started having visions of throwing him off the back deck into a nearby Issaquah creek. "We'd be out there just watching the birds, and I'd see this image. I wasn't even angry at the time. He wasn't crying. I didn't feel frustrated."
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It matters to the rest of us if a new mom in the grip of postpartum depression has no insurance. Or if her insurance won't cover the cost of anti-depressants. Or if her coverage won't pay for the kind of drug that already is helping her until five other (less expensive) drugs have failed. ...