Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Baby Blues: Mothers' Experiences After Adoption, Brigette Barno Schupay

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

It is not uncommon for new mothers to experience depression. However, depression after the arrival of a child is not limited to biological mothers. The term Post-Adoption Depression Syndrome (PADS) was created to capture the unique type of depression that may occur after adopting a child. The nature and prevalence of depression after adoption is still largely unknown since there is little published research exploring the experiences of mothers in the first year after adopting a child. The characteristics of this disorder are reportedly comparable to postpartum depression in a biological mother. A review of postpartum literature reveals risk …