Adele opens up about PPD at the Grammy Awards

Over the weekend, Adele was given the coveted award at the Grammys for Best Album. The fascinating part of her speech, aside from honoring Beyonce, was her very public recognition of her struggles with postpartum depression and how it has affected her.

“Five years ago, when I was last here, I also was pregnant, and I didn’t know,” she said. “I found out [I was pregnant] shortly after, which was the biggest blessing of my life. And in my pregnancy and through becoming a mother, I lost a lot of myself. I’ve struggled, and I still do struggle being a mom. It’s really hard. But tonight winning this kind of feels full circle, and like a bit of me has come back to myself.”

In 2015, during a Rolling Stone interview, she remarked, “I was so all over the place after having a child, just because my chemicals were just hitting the f****** roof and s*** like that. I was just drifting away.”

While she’s been very open with her struggles, she’s also been open with her treatment, remarking that she could only address it after she acknowledged it. In doing so, she quickly realized that many of her friends suffered from the same feelings. Since then, she has come into her own love for motherhood, loves her life with her little boy, and is happy to let others know just how many other women struggle from postpartum depression and how everything in their lives can be affected by it.

Many women know they may feel emotional after having a baby. These feelings are often called the “baby blues” and may leave you feeling stressed, sad, anxious, lonely, tired, or weepy. However, up to 1 in 7 women suffers from more serious postpartum depression (PPD). It differs from the more typical emotional changes women feel after a delivery and many times will not go away on its own.

PPD can affect any woman and should be treated seriously, as a woman’s mental health is extremely important to her bonding with her baby as well as her ability to have a positive experience. How a woman manages her mental health also has a profound effect on the baby’s physical and emotional development. A good place to address this with your doctor is during the postpartum visit.

Women are often overlooked in their new journeys as mothers, and we must build a culture that empowers women and enables them to speak to their mothers, friends, and healthcare providers to ensure a healthy recovery. So reach out to your friends, sisters, and loved ones and let them know you are there for them. If they are experiencing symptoms of PPD, encourage them to see a doctor and talk about it.

Symptoms can include;

• Changes in mood: anger, anxiety, guilt, hopelessness, loss of interest or pleasure in activities, mood swings, or panic attacks
• Physical symptoms: fatigue, loss of appetite, insomnia, or restlessness
• Psychological: depression, fear, or repeatedly going over thoughts
• Behavioral: crying or irritability
• Cognitive: lack of concentration or unwanted thoughts
• Weight: weight gain or weight loss

Be an advocate for women and speak up when you can. Without treatment, postpartum depression can last for months or years. Ensuring that mothers can connect with and care for their babies will allow more women like Adele to be a voice in this journey on the road to recovery.