For most new parents, the birth of a child causes extended celebration throughout their lives. They can’t believe they could be so lucky to welcome this new life into the world. But that isn’t the case for everyone. Some go through the “baby blues,” but for other it doesn’t stop there. Support groups say one out of seven women will experience postpartum depression.
Most deal with the depressions through prescribed medication like SSRIs and antidepressants. But some women are turning to cannabis as a way to cope with their depression. One such mother is Celia Behar, who has become a de facto spokeswomen for postpartum depression and cannabis usage.
Following the birth of her first child, she experience intense postpartum depression. She was prescribed Prozac but didn’t like how the drug made her feel. The side effects were far too intense.
“My hands would shake, which I hated. No sleep,” she told an NBC affiliate. “There was definitely insomnia, upset stomach and really bad migraines.”
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Following the birth of her second child, a friend recommended she try cannabis. Behar didn’t tell her husband at the time and kept it from friends that she was using cannabis. But now she is speaking out and sharing how someone can consume marijuana in a healthy manner and at the same time be a good mother.
As Behar explains in the above video, she is open with her kids about her cannabis usage. She views it no differently than mothers who drink a few glasses of wine after a long day. This falls in line with a recent study that shows more than half of parents who consume cannabis have done so in front of their kids.
If you’re curious, you can also read about how marijuana affects pregnancy, and why more women are using while they’re pregnant.