Depression among adoptive parents is in fact so common that the name Post Adoption Depression Syndrome, or PADS, was coined. According to one study, up to 65 percent of adoptive mothers suffer fromPAD.
So what does that mean for sufferers?
It means that the newly adoptive parent is exhausted and overwhelmed. Coupled with this is often a child who is not a newborn, and therefore has some vast needs and wants. Toddlers and older children need to be fed, sometimes constantly. They are also mobile, so a newly adoptive parent doesn’t get that chance to sleep when the baby sleeps. They have no fear and also no attachment figure, so they need to be watched constantly.
Newly adoptive mothers don’t get any downtime. They often have to go back to work because there is no medical leave. They are thrilled at having this child, and dismayed by the feelings that it is bringing up. They may feel loss, hopelessness, ambivalence towards the child and anger. They don’t know where this is coming from…
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