PACIFIC POST PARTUM SUPPORT SOCIETY

Spanish Language Information

MOTHERS WITH YOUNG CHILDREN OR PREGNANT WOMEN

Are you feeling
SAD? OVERWHELMED?
ANXIOUS? NUMB?
We understand. We can help.

Telephone Support: (604) 255-7999
Toll Free: (855) 255-7999
www.postpartum.org
(We welcome self-referrals)

We offer telephone support and weekly support groups throughout the Lower Mainland.
We support Dads, too!

(Initial contact will be with English-speaking staff. For support in Spanish, please let the worker know your name, your contact number, and request our Spanish-speaking worker call you)

Some information on Postpartum Depression and Anxiety (PPD/A)

• 15% to 20% of moms experience PPD/A
• 10% of dads experience PPD/A
• Pregnant women and parents who adopt a child may also experience PPD/A

These feelings…

• Can start during pregnancy, after birth, or months into the postpartum period
• Can last a number of weeks or months or even past a year postpartum
• Can emerge after the birth of the first child or subsequent children. The probability of experiencing PPD/A increases if the mother has had previous experiences of depression.

It is most important to remember that having postpartum sadness or challenges is not the woman’s fault. It is not an indication that she is incapable, or “crazy”, or weak.

With the appropriate treatment and support, you will feel better and heal.

Is this happening to you?

• Crying often or for no apparent reason
• Numbness
• Feeling helpless or unable to handle daily activities
• Afraid to be alone
• Feeling that something is not right
• Frightening or intrusive thoughts
• Feeling overly worried for your child
• Disinterested in baby, not bonding with baby
• Depression that may range from sadness to thoughts of suicide
• Anxiety or panic attacks
• Anger and aggression
• Difficulty sleeping
• Loss of appetite
• Feeling resentment towards baby or family members
• Feeling alone, have no support
• Feel inadequate, useless

If your youngest child is under three years, or if you are currently pregnant, and you have any of the above feelings, we can help.

Extra challenges and barriers faced by Spanish-speaking immigrants may include:

• Missing family and friends from home

• Living far away from people who could help with the baby

• Difficulty with the language

• Lack of information or lack of access to resources; you don’t know where to go for help

• Lack of knowledge about and difficulty adjusting to Canadian health care system

• Difficulty building a new social circle in Canada

• Feeling alone and isolated

• Missing own culture and traditions

• Difficulty understanding doctors’ diagnoses or instructions

• Difficulty acclimating to new environment

• Post partum depression and anxiety isn’t talked about in native country, making women feel alone and ashamed

•  Lack of education and stigma on mental illness in native country leads women to not seek help or to make excuses for their symptoms

Women’s Voices:

“I feel that I had more freedom in my native country to choose what I want regarding health care”

“I found myself isolated in my home, feeling hopeless.”

“I was the mum who was reading a lot because I wanted to be informed… and I realized how stressed out I was because of all this information.”

“In Mexico, the nurses take the baby away, so you can rest and you can sleep and everything. And here… now you are a mum; you have to take care of him or her twenty-four-seven, no matter what.”

“I started to notice that I was very short tempered with both of my children and very impatient, very intolerant. And over time, this was escalating. And I realized that I was starting to be out of control of my emotions.”

“I thought I needed to be strong… I tried to show a different face to my husband because I didn’t want to make him worry.”

“The Pacific Post Partum Support Society has been like the hand who saw me falling down and they went and picked me up and brought me back to life. To a real, happier life.”

Funding for this section provided by Integrated Primary and Community Care, Vancouver Coastal Health.