... depressed. In support of this, it has been discovered that the stress hormone 'Cortisol' is very low after giving birth, which could make coping more difficult, leading to depression. It cannot be denied however that many of the women who suffer seriously from PPD have already had episodes of clinical depression in their life, which could mean that they are more prone to suffering depression at this point. It could also be that psychological factors are important - many women may have been seen to have unrealistic views of motherhood before birth or may be suffering from a lack of support or low self esteem, all of these things could be seen to make one depressed when at such a life changing stage. When contemplating the above idea, it would be exceedingly difficult to understand why depression is more frequent during periods of great hormonal change such as menstruation and ...

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