Today I want to share with you a video from Everyday Health, featuring Heather Armstrong @dooce, Kendra Wilkinson @KendraWilkinson, Ali Landry @AliLandry, and Camila Alves @CamilaAlves.

The topic: postpartum depression.

Of these four women, two have had very public struggles with postpartum depression. Heather Armstrong checked herself into a psychiatric hospital when she became suicidal after the birth of her daughter. The experience is chronicled on her blog, Dooce, and in her book, It Sucked and Then I Cried.

Kendra Wilkinson also suffered from postpartum depression, though she, like all too many women, never got help for her condition. Fortunately, both she and her child made it through the experience.

Ali Landry experienced a case of the baby blues, and says she thinks it was made worse by returning to work too quickly.

Of the four, Camila Alves is the only one who did not suffer with any form of postpartum mood disorder.

Please watch this video and listen to their key points:

• Women whose postpartum depression goes untreated can be affected for the rest of their lives.
• Women with PPD often feel alone and think it’s their fault.
• The more we talk about it and spread the word, the better. Brooke Shields’ book helped Heather, simply by letting her know that other women go through the same experience, even celebrities.
• If you suspect something’s out of whack postpartum, go talk to a professional about it. Please don’t try to use your husband or family members as therapists. They may care, but they’re not trained.
• You can’t self-diagnose. Again, go get that professional opinion.

If you’d like to read more about Heather’s experiences, visit these links to posts from her archives, when she was in the thick of her postpartum experience.

Heather, Interrupted

Unlocked

Unlocked, Part 2, Or, On That Open Road In Front Of Me