Lesser-Known Postpartum Mood Disorders

Shouts & Murmurs

- By Jena Friedman

POSTPARTUM-ANXIETY ANXIETY: Anxiety that occurs when you think you may have postpartum anxiety after reading about it on an online message board you came across while struggling to breastfeed your colicky newborn at 3 A.M.

INSTA-MOM AFFECTIVE DISORDER: Feelings of sadness associated with scrolling Instagram, compounded by the fact that the algorithm now knows that you’re a new mom and has started flooding your feed with videos of other new moms making it all look so easy, as well as ads for stuff you might not be able to afford but will buy anyway because you haven’t slept in months and your defenses are down.

POSTPARTUM AMAZON AMNESIA: An impulse-control disorder that involves purchasing every single baby-related item on Amazon that any person or ad recommends, in an effort to help your baby sleep more or cry less, or sleep more and cry less, and then forgetting that you’ve purchased those items and accidentally buying them again.

UNSPECIFIED HOSPITAL-PRIVATIZATION