Recognizing the signs of postpartum depression
CBSN
High school sweethearts Mitchail and Brenda Encarnacion filled the early years of their marriage with excitement, before embarking on another kind of adventure. According to Mitchail, Brenda was "gung-ho" about the impending birth of their baby. "She was reading all these books. It was, like, YouTube videos. She made me a PowerPoint! It was like a full-time job for her," he said.
In October 2020, Brenda gave birth to their daughter, Evelyn. Yet, despite all their preparation, there was one thing they didn't see coming. "Sometimes, I'd catch her just, like, crying for no reason," Mitchail said. "And I would always ask her, and she'd be like, 'Yeah it's just hormones.' She just kept calling it 'Mommy brain.'"
As a paramedic, Mitchail said he recognized the signs of postpartum depression, and encouraged her to see a therapist, but says things didn't improve. "The morning before, she looked different," he said. "I could see it in her eyes that there was something wrong."
