Swedish opens postpartum depression treatment center

When Kayla was pregnant, and then after she had her baby, Sage, several months ago, it wasn’t a joyous experience. Kayla is among many women who experience postpartum depression.

“I wasn’t really feeling happy, it was hard for me to just get up out of bed,” said Kayla, who lives on the eastside and doesn’t want to use her last name. “I knew that something wasn’t really right. I remember thinking, what’s wrong with me? Because I didn’t have that, like, ‘She’s here!’ [reaction to the birth] and that amazing moment I had with my first one. I felt kind of shamed about it because I felt like I should feel a certain way.”

Kayla joins the 15 to 20 percent of women who have postpartum depression. It’s a pretty common experience, but until recently the only thing a woman on the west coast could do was seek private therapy or be institutionalized. But in June, Swedish opened its Center for Perinatal Bonding and Support, the only outpatient program for women suffering from postpartum depression on the west coast.

“The difference between getting one-on-one therapy and being in this group setting is that you don’t feel alone,” Kayla said. “You have a safe space where you have your baby with you and you can actually talk about what’s going on with other people. The other day there was a woman who shared with the group that she also experienced not really being happy when the baby was born. To hear another woman say that, helped me to feel like I’m not a bad mom. There’s nothing wrong with me.”

The first postpartum depression center on the West Coast

Women and their babies come in four days a week, six hours a day, for as little as a week and as long as a month. They get postpartum depression counseling, lactation help, do craft projects, baby yoga, learn mindfulness and simply have structure in their day.

The program’s director, psychiatric physician Dr. Veronica Zantop says it’s been a lifesaver for struggling new moms.

“We actually track how women do and so we’ve seen with the women who have graduated, even within eight days, their depression goes way down, their anxiety goes way down,” Dr. Zantop said. “Women come in feeling like they’re not good mothers, they not bonding with their babies, they can’t read their baby’s cues. Even after a week that changes dramatically.”

This was very true for Kayla and her experience with postpartum depression.

“I was just kind of always wanting [Sage] away from me,” Kayla said. “I was feeling, obviously, really bad about that. Why don’t I want to hold my baby? So, when I came in here, I think the first day I was kind of like, what am I going to do all day? Because I have to hold her. It actually helped us to connect. Now when I’m at home, I will hold her and I enjoy having her in my arms. We’re extremely connected now and we’re able to laugh and smile in a way that we didn’t before.”

Dr. Zantop says there are still stigmas surrounding postpartum depression. Women think they’re going to be perceived as a bad mother, that they’re going to lose it and try and kill their baby like you might read about in the news. She says the sooner they get help, the better, and it’s completely treatable.

“They have done a lot of studies that show that babies born to women who have untreated mood anxiety symptoms end up having much higher risks for ADHD, they have a much higher risk of behavioral issues, they have a much higher risk of learning difficulties, a much higher risk of anxiety and mood symptoms when they get older,” Dr. Zantop said. “So if you can catch women early and help them with the bonding … It’s really not just treating anxiety and depression, it’s helping them bond with their babies. It not only helps the moms, it helps the babies. It prevents the babies from having future mental health issues.”

Kayla says without this program she might have been institutionalized.

“There was multiple days when I was going to check myself in because I didn’t feel good,” she said.

That can be a traumatic experience, because new moms are mixed in with people with severe mental health issues, you’re in a locked cell and you’re not allowed to have your baby during the most crucial bonding time.

After four weeks in the program, Kayla is doing much better.

“I feel extremely hopeful,” she said. “I’m excited that other women can find help. I’m not a hundred percent better, but I’m okay with that. I’m a lot better than I was when I first came in here and it’s constantly getting better.”

The program is open to everyone, not just Swedish patients, and is covered by insurance.

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