We spent a lot of time talking about post-partum depression. I'm
probably at higher risk, because I've had two mild depressive episodes and
because my sister had real trouble with it. I wanted to know if there's
anything I can do to reduce my chances of developing PPD after the baby is
born. She said that the most important thing is to make sure I have a
strong support system in place - including help with the baby, having
someone else to do the cooking and housework, making sure I have
opportunities to leave the house without the baby, and possibly joining a
new mother's group. She also said that I might want to consider using
formula for one night feeding, even though otherwise I'll be exclusively
breastfeeding, because PPD is linked to sleep deprivation. Finally, she
gave me the name of a psychiatrist who regularly works with their practice
and suggested that I might want to meet him before the baby is born, so
that if problems arise I will already know who to go to for help. She
tried to impress upon me the importance of being willing to take
antidepressants if necessary, even if I'm nursing - I told her that, as a
psychologist, I know enough about the potential developmental impact of
having a depressed mother that I will be perfectly willing to take
whatever medications I need.

thanks for posting this, perfect timing! I'm just about to leave for an
appointment with my psychiatrist and this is what I wanted to discuss, it
hadn't occured to be to consider ways of getting more sleep, so I think I
need to carefully consider that