Moments after Jenna Carberg gave birth to her daughter, doctors put the baby on her chest. “I felt a disconnect right away,” she recalled. At home, the Orlando, Florida, mom was exhausted and anxious and cried every day. She was eventually diagnosed with postpartum depression — a potentially dangerous condition that can fill a typically joyous time with deep despair. The mood disorder has been on the rise. A 2024 study in the journal JAMA Network Open found that U.S. rates more than doubled in just over a decade, climbing from 9.4% in 2010 to 19% in 2021, partly due to improved screening and diagnosis. It can be hard to differentiate the disorder from the much milder and more common “baby blues” brought on by plummeting hormone levels. But recognizing and treating postpartum depression is crucial, said OB-GYN Dr. Tiffany Moore Simas at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. Moms who go untreated may have problems bonding with and caring for their babies.…