The truth about baby blues: more women are admitting they hit a low after having a kid. Cosmo shines a light on their secret suffering.(WHAT YOU'RE DYING TO KNOW ABOUT)

Among Tom Cruise's many out-there antics during the past year, you may remember his criticizing Brooke Shields for taking antidepressants after the birth of her daughter, Rowan. But to hear Brooke describe it in her book, Down Came the Rain, and in an op-ed in the New York Times, she was really suffering: "I couldn't bear the sound of Rowan crying, and I dreaded the moments my husband would bring her to me."

The truth is, extreme sadness following childbirth known as postpartum depression (PPD)--is a very real and common condition. Not only have other celeb moms (like Kate Hudson and Courteney Cox) confessed to their own bouts of postbaby anguish, but according to the American Psychiatric Association, about 1 in 10 mothers gets PPD. The reason you don't hear more about it? Because many women feel so ashamed, they hide it--even from their partners.

Postpregnancy Despair

In addition to the usual stresses, new mothers experience a powerful hormonal shift once their babies are born. "A woman's levels of estrogen and progesterone plummet, and she may fall prey to emotional distress," says Shaila Kulkarni Misri, MD, author of Pregnancy Blues. Not only are some moms plagued with fatigue, anxiety, and feelings of hopelessness, but they may also have little interest in their newborn and start to resent the child for robbing them of their independence. "This makes them feel guilty," says psychologist Shoshana S. Bennett, PhD, president of Postpartum Support International.

For a number of women, the emotional pain is so intense that they contemplate ...