Depression can strike at any time in a woman’s life, but women are most vulnerable during their childbearing years. About 10-15% of women suffer from depression after the birth of a child; what may be surprising to some is that about the same number of women actually experience depression during pregnancy.
Despite significant advances in our understanding of depression and its treatment, too often women who suffer from depression in this setting do not receive the treatment they need and deserve. The symptoms of depression are frequently overlooked or assumed to be a normal or expected consequence of having a child. Many expectant and new mothers, unable to understand why they feel depressed at a time when they are expected to feel happy, are too ashamed to ask for help.
A Deeper Shade of Blue is a book written specifically to help these women who suffer from depression as it occurs within the context of childbearing. This website will serve as an extension of the book, providing women with the most up-to-date medical information on the following topics
- Treatment options for women suffering from depression or anxiety during pregnancy
- Use of medications during pregnancy and while breastfeeding
- Depression related to infertility and its treatment
- Psychological responses to miscarriage and other types of pregnancy loss
- Postpartum depression and anxiety
- Understanding the effects of maternal depression on the family
RUTA NONACS, M.D., Ph.D. is the Associate Director of the Center for Women’s Mental Health at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and is an instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. She received her M.D. from Cornell University Medical College, and her Ph.D. from Rockefeller University in New York. She is the recipient of several awards and honors for her research in the area of women’s depression. Dr. Nonacs lives with her family outside of Boston, Massachusetts.
