(PHOTO COURTESY OF: DR. MARIA CAPERELLI GERGEL)

(WENY) -- For people with a newborn child, you can understand the overwhelming feeling of love and joy after bringing your baby home. However, it can also bring on postpartum depression, anxiety, or even PTSD.

Dr. Maria Caperelli Gergel is a physician with Guthrie. In 2020, she delivered her first child via c-section, with her baby spending time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Dr. Caperelli Gergel said after that experience, she ended up with PTSD, as well as undiagnosed and unrecognized postpartum anxiety.

"I started to try to deal with it and then decided I was done dealing with it, [so] I packaged it up, put it away, and said 'I'll deal with this later.' I got pregnant in the fall of 2021 [and] I had a very traumatic miscarriage. Then, the PTSD came back, the unrecognized postpartum anxiety came back, [and] I tried to deal with that again. [I] gave it a bit of a longer shot than I did the first time, but then at some point I was like, 'Nope, I'm done with this again. [I] packaged it up [and] put it away. I had my son a little over a year ago now, and it was another emergency c-section. This time, with more complications than the last and the PTSD came back tenfold," said Dr. Caperelli Gergel.

She said after her son was born, the postpartum anxiety was recognized. She said that's when she realized she needed to deal with it now.

"I tried to look around for help and there’s not a whole lot in this area. There were wait lists with all the therapists and there was nothing to really help me right then and there … So, I ended up finding Postpartum [Support] International … They paired me with a peer mentor who was somebody I could text and call... But she was across the country. Then, they also paired me with a coordinator to help me navigate all of the postpartum stuff," said Dr. Caperelli Gergel.

After she got help from Postpartum International and came back to work after maternity leave, she saw how many people needed help and wanted to start something to do so.

"When I had come back from maternity leave, I think the first month or two I had seen about 7-10 moms, who came in detailing their own PTSD and postpartum depression/postpartum anxiety. I almost felt helpless because I knew there wasn’t really anything in the valley to help them. So, that’s when I was kind of thinking we need to do something and we need to start something local to help these moms so they don’t feel as isolated and alone as they are. So, we're starting a support group," said Dr. Caperelli Gergel.

Dr. Caperelli Gergel said while it's great to have support from a parent, partner, or close friend, this postpartum group can help differently.

"Perinatal mental health disorders don’t discriminate. They don’t care if it’s your first baby or your third baby, a regular delivery or a traumatic delivery. If you have a supportive partner or you’re doing this on your own it affects anybody, it can affect anybody and it probably affects more people than we realize because everybody just internalizes it," said Dr. Caperelli Gergel.

She added, "It's great to talk to your mom, your friend, your partner, but they don't fully get what it's like. Being able to talk to somebody who's going through it, went through it [and/or] is in the trenches is a completely different experience. Being able to connect with somebody to say 'Hey, I've been there. It sucks, but you can get out to the other side' ... That's huge."

Mackensie Berry is a mother of two. She delivered her first son in May 2021 and said the delivery was a little traumatic and hard on her.

"I probably had some undiagnosed postpartum depression/postpartum anxiety. I kind of packed it up and put it away because I had a lot going on at the time [with] taking care of a newborn and getting myself back to normal. Then I had my second baby in September of 2022. Shortly after, I started to realize I definitely had postpartum depression/anxiety growing," said Berry.

She said it's really easy to have these feelings snowball, but when you talk with someone, it can make you realize you can get help.

"I think the breaking point is different for everyone. For me specifically, the thoughts just consumed my head with anxiety and I just wasn’t happy. I have a really great relationship with my partner and I just laid it all out there for him and I was like 'This is how I was feeling and what do you think I should do?' [I] talked about it with [him] ... and he was the one to really push me [to] get some help. Being able to discuss the way you’re feeling with somebody that just went through it/is going through it or might be on the border of that, really just helps put things into perspective and makes it so you don’t feel alone," said Berry.

Berry added, "I know it can be really isolating when you get into your own head. It’s really easy to just have it snowball. It’s really easy to have these feelings and then they get worse and they build up and you [bottle it up] but there’s only so much you can pack away... Just voicing the way you're feeling is so important. It's so healing. Just saying it out loud, writing it down, sending it to somebody just so you don't feel alone [can help.]"

The first Postpartum Support Group meeting will be on July 3rd at 6 p.m. at the Nursing Building at the Guthrie Robert Packer Hospital campus in Sayre. From there, the group will meet every first Wednesday of the month.

Registration is recommended for the meetings, and you can sign up here.

Dr. Caperelli Gergel said the first few meetings will be for moms. Moving forward, she hopes to eventually open the meetings up to partners to come as well. Dr. Caperelli Gergel also mentioned it's okay for moms to bring their children to the meetings.