Defining the Differences:

Baby “blues”: fleeting periods of sadness and mood swings immediately after giving birth. Typically goes away within two weeks or less. Risk rate is 80% of all new mothers.

Postpartum Depression: Continued and deeper feelings of sadness and mood swings. Other symptoms may possibly include increased irritability, decreased appetite, inability to sleep, intrusive thoughts, increased anxiety. Risk rate is 10-15% of all new mothers, regardless of how many children she has.

Postpartum Psychosis: Onset is fast and can include delusions, hallucinations, inability to make any decisions, hearing voices. If suspected, the mother needs to be hospitalized immediately and not left alone until she is under professional care. This is rare, every 1 in 1000 women are at risk for developing this and a family history of bipolar or schizophrenia raise the risk even higher.