Depression affects women almost twice as often as men, with about one in four women suffering from it in her lifetime. While depression may strike at any time, studies show that women are particularly vulnerable during their childbearing years.

Despite the increasing awareness of this deeply concerning issue, many studies and health professionals still continue to focus almost solely on postpartum depression, ignoring the fact that depression is just as likely to affect women while they're trying to conceive and during pregnancy. Now, in this comprehensive, empathetic, and candid book, Dr. Ruta Nonacs, a senior member of the Center for Women's Mental Health at Massachusetts General Hospital and mother of two children herself, confronts the seldom talked-about issues of pregnancy-related depression, including:

Becoming pregnant while being treated for depression

Infertility-related depression and the effects of fertility treatments

Understanding the effects of maternal depression on spouses and family

Postpartum depression and anxiety

Nonacs also addresses the many complicated issues in a woman's life during the span of her childbearing years — education, career, marriage, childbearing, and child rearing — and discusses the ways in which depression often takes hold during potentially stressful times. Nonacs identifies many of the symptoms of depression associated with pregnancy and discusses treatments and cures, as well as ways to minimize effects of depression on family and friends.

Straightforward and honest, as well as emotionally sensitive and deeply moving, A Deeper Shade of Blue gives every woman who has suffered from pregnancy-related depression the information she needs to get the best care for herself, during pregnancy and beyond.