After the births of her first and second sons, Las Vegas resident Bobbie Unick remembered being so thrilled by having a new baby she begged the doctor to hand him over immediately. But the arrival of her third son, Eric, triggered quite a different reaction.

"I took him, but my first instinct was, 'take him away, I don't even want to touch him,'" she said.

In the four months following, Unick said she did everything she could to survive, but felt like her lingering bad mood was because of the baby, who cried incessantly.

"There were times I would be looking at him crying ... and just feeling distant," Unick said. "I had thoughts like, 'what would happen if I put a pillow over his face,' then I thought, 'stop it, you're crazy.'"

Unick said it took her a year to feel like her happy self again. And she's not alone. Around 16 percent of women experience symptoms of postpartum depression, lasting several months to the second year after delivery, according to data from the Utah Health Department. In severe cases, less than 1 percent of women are diagnosed with psychosis. But more common are the two-week "baby blues," affecting 50 to 80 percent of mothers.

Symptoms of "baby blues" may include anxiety, sadness, crying spells, irritability and mood swings, but they aren't severe and don't need to be treated, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Postpartum depression symptoms, however, require treatment and are more severe, with anxiety, fatigue, a sense of worthlessness and guilt listed among them.

It is never just the woman's problem either, Parker said. A mother's inability to function affects the whole family, thus becoming everybody's problem.

"Some women don't want to do anything and others want to kill everybody," said Kelli Parker, a nurse practitioner in a local obstetrician's office.

Parker said most cases of postpartum depression are hard to track because a lot of women just mistake it for fatigue resulting from sleepless nights. Some even regard their symptoms as signs of weakness, thinking things like, "everybody else has a big family, so why aren't I handling it?" and "this isn't happening to anybody else." Others assume their feelings and behavior are normal.

During Unick's yearlong battle, she said she never thought her symptoms mirrored those of postpartum depression; she just knew something wasn't right.

"It's almost like you take the emotion out of your day and you're just running around doing what you need to do," she said. "There's no real affection; there's no excitement."

Parker said efforts have been made in the last few years to train doctors in diagnostic procedures. But mostly, awareness in mothers has increased, resulting in more cases being reported.

"Women have realized that this isn't normal and they don't need to suck it up," she said.

The cause of postpartum depression is most often related to low estrogen levels. Women who nurse are more likely to experience symptoms along with thinner women, Parker said. But there are treatment options for all women who experience any amount of depression before or after delivery.

Pregnant women who get enough sleep, eat well and talk to a doctor about medical history and estrogen supplements are more easily able to combat postpartum depression should they experience it.

In mild cases of depression after delivery, Parker said counseling can make a big difference because it can help identify and alleviate extraneous stresses. Additionally, it helps analyze what's going on in the home. In more severe cases, anti-depression medication may be required.

Not all treatment options require a professional's intervention, however. Short-term "baby blues" may be treated at home by allowing an adequate recovery period, including good nutrition, household help and getting enough sleep.

"People need to realize that there's a convalescent period," Parker said. "I tell women to stay in their pajamas as long as they can because if they get ready people will think they're functional."