Read about Dr. Erika’s personal story about postpartum depression here. I’m going to talk today a little bit about how to treat postpartum depression naturally, and some things you may want to speak to your doctor about if you think you have postpartum depression or anxiety. The very first thing we should talk about is some lab work.  So when we talk about treating postpartum depression naturally I really want to know why someone has postpartum depression, and not to just treat it presumptively.  (In other words – is it really postpartum depression?)  So the first thing I want you to talk to your doctor about is getting some basic bloodwork done. The first thing I like to order is a Complete Blood Count (or “CBC”) to see the size and shape of your red blood cells and white blood cells.  If you have too low of red blood cells (anemia) that can be a frequent cause of fatigue and depression. An add-on test to that would be something called a serum ferritin, which checks the storage form of iron.  This is a much more reliable test than a serum iron because serum iron levels can fluctuate, whereas the ferritin stays relatively the same. If you did have anemia or iron deficiency in pregnancy then this test is even more important (though I think everyone should get checked in postpartum, just in case). The next thing you should do is have your physician check you for postpartum thyroiditis.  Postpartum thyroiditis occurs in over 5% of women (that’s a lot of women), and remember that the symptoms can mimic depression very closely.  Check out the full blog post about postpartum thyroiditis and postpartum depression. You should also check your vitamin D if you hadn’t at some point in pregnancy.  The best test for this is 25-OH (hydroxy) vitamin D. Your checklist for labwork: A CBC (with differential, to be precise) A serum ferritin Thyroid panel (see the full video about thyroiditis to see what I recommend) 25-OH vitamin D. Your physician may choose to do a few more tests, too (like … Continue reading How to treat postpartum depression naturally