Postpartum: the hours between visits
Asha does not diagnose or prescribe. She explains the evidence, cites it, and tells you when to get care today.
Baby blues, postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety and postpartum psychosis are four different conditions with four different levels of urgency. Know which one you are looking at. Then ask Asha, any hour. When it is serious, she says so.
Five questions, no accountBuilt by two physiciansCited on every answer
Which one is this?
Four conditions get called "the blues". They differ in how common they are, how long they last, and how fast they need care.
Call your clinician if it lasts past two weeks, gets worse, or you cannot care for yourself or the baby.
Is this still the blues? Ask AshaCall your clinician this week if symptoms have lasted two weeks. Call today if you have any thought of not wanting to be here.
What helps fastest? Ask AshaSay the thoughts out loud to your clinician or to 1-833-852-6262. Call today if the thoughts start to feel reasonable, or like instructions instead of intrusions.
Are these thoughts normal? Ask AshaGo to the emergency department or call 911. Do not leave the mother alone with the baby while you arrange care. Most women recover fully with treatment.
What do I do tonight? Ask Asha
You do not have to name it yourself. Tell Asha what the last week has been like, in your own words. She will tell you what it sounds like, what needs care today, and what can wait until the morning.
Tell Asha about your weekTwo things that make every one of these worse
Antidepressants help many mothers. In some, especially those with an undiagnosed bipolar tendency, an antidepressant can trigger agitation, racing thoughts and a sharp drop in sleep. New or worsening insomnia, restlessness, or "wired" energy after a dose change is a warning sign.
Stress and lack of sleep worsen every one of these conditions, and sleep loss is a trigger for postpartum psychosis in vulnerable women. If a new mother has not slept in two nights, protecting one stretch of 4 to 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep is a medical intervention.
Tonight
You will see the change before anyone else does. Watch for:
Then: stay with her, take over the baby, call 1-833-852-6262 or her clinician. If any emergency sign above is present, go to the emergency department tonight. Remove access to medications and anything else that could be used for harm while you arrange care.
A two-minute check
Ten questions clinicians use at postpartum visits, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Choose the answer closest to how you have felt over the past 7 days as a whole, rather than only today. Your answers stay on this page. Nothing is stored or sent anywhere.
This is a screening questionnaire. A diagnosis needs a conversation with a clinician; the score is a reason to have it. Whatever the total, one answer matters most: question 10. Any answer other than "Never" means please call someone tonight.
You said the thought of harming yourself has occurred to you. That answer matters more than any total.
Please call or text 988 now, or 1-833-852-6262. If you are in immediate danger, call 911. Do not stay alone with this tonight.
0out of 30
Cox JL, Holden JM, Sagovsky R. Detection of postnatal depression: development of the 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. British Journal of Psychiatry 1987;150:782-786. Reproduced with the citation the authors require. Scores of 10 to 12 suggest possible depression; 13 or more, probable depression; any score above 0 on item 10 calls for a same-day safety conversation regardless of the total.
Watch
Our films, and short pieces from clinicians we trust. Nothing plays until you press play.
The questions a new parent asks at 3 a.m., and the answers Asha gives: cited on every answer, in plain language, with a clear line on what needs a clinician today.
The story of this page told in stone: the night, the question, the key.
The line between the blues and depression, in a minute.
On the first medicines developed specifically for postpartum depression. Ask your clinician whether one is right for you.
Why the weeks matter, and what screening at the postpartum visit is for.
The urgent maternal warning signs in the year after birth, and why a mother's concern deserves to be heard the first time.
Body, sleep, mood: what the first weeks and months usually look like, and when to speak up.
Rest
Guided practices from Asha, five to nineteen minutes, in English and Hindi. They support sleep and calm. They do not treat postpartum depression or psychosis; the lines at the top of this page do.
All twelve sessions, in the app: askasha.org/relax. The evidence behind each practice: the guided relaxation essay.
Resources
Asha reads the evidence first and answers in plain language, with the sources. She does not rush you. She will tell you plainly when something needs a clinician today.
Ask AshaAsk Asha
Each one opens Asha with the question already sent. Five questions, no account.
Asha gives health information and helps you decide what to do next. She does not diagnose, prescribe, or replace your clinician. When it is serious, she says so. In an emergency, call 911 or 988 first.
If a name in the news brought you here, this page was written for you and for the people around a new mother. No claim is made here about any real person, provider, or outcome. What it offers is healthcare between visits: the four postpartum conditions and how they differ, a two-minute check, and who to call tonight. Asha is here any hour, with the sources shown, for the questions that come at 2 a.m.
Asha is built by DNAi Systems, founded by two physicians. Answers are grounded in a curated medical knowledge base and checked against safety rules before they reach you. Five questions, no account. Then the first month free with a card. Your conversations are private and are never sold. Privacy, safety, pricing.
