{"publisher":{"name":"MediaBias News","url":"https://mediabias.news","methodology":"https://mediabias.news/methodology","editorialPrinciples":"https://mediabias.news/editorial-principles","corrections":"https://mediabias.news/corrections"},"scoreGuide":{"trust":"How well corroborated and evidenced the source reporting is. 0-100, higher is better.","critic":"Craft quality of the source journalism: context, balance, fact vs comment. 0-100, higher is better.","hype":"How far the source presentation runs ahead of substance. 0-100, LOWER IS BETTER.","scope":"Scores assess the original reporting this article was written from, not the truth of the underlying event and not the quality of this write-up."},"assessmentGuide":{"type":"coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis","factCheck":{"status":"not-performed","note":"Media Bias News compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It does not currently publish a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true."},"sourceFactuality":{"note":"Factuality values describe published ratings of the outlets that covered the story. They are not a factuality verdict on this story or its claims."}},"story":{"id":"https://mediabias.news/health/dear-abby-new-mother-asks-how-to-support-struggling-friend","slug":"dear-abby-new-mother-asks-how-to-support-struggling-friend","url":"https://mediabias.news/health/dear-abby-new-mother-asks-how-to-support-struggling-friend","title":"Dear Abby: New mother asks how to support struggling friend","subtitle":"A new mother sought advice on how to balance her own positive experience with her friend's postpartum difficulties.","excerpt":"A new mother asked Dear Abby for guidance on how to support her best friend, who is experiencing anxiety and depression two months after childbirth. The friend is struggling with motherhood, while the asker is adjusting well.","category":"Health","area":"United States","publishedAt":"2026-08-23T13:45:43.459Z","sourceReportedAt":"2026-08-23T11:00:00.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-23T13:45:43.459Z","readTime":"3 min read","scores":{"trust":42,"critic":69,"hype":15,"notes":{"trust":"Trust low (42) because only one outlet gave a full report with a named questioner and no independent corroboration.","critic":"Critic moderate (69) as the piece quotes the asker and Dear Abby, keeping facts separate.","hype":"Hype low (15); headline matches content without exaggeration."}},"tags":["#PostpartumDepression","#MentalHealth","#DearAbby","#Friendship","#Motherhood"],"entities":["Dear Abby","Inquirer","Chicago Sun Times","Michigan Live","Mass Live","lehighvalleylive","New Hampshire Union Leader"],"body":[{"type":"key_takeaways","items":["A new mother is concerned about her best friend, who has become distant, anxious, and depressed since giving birth.","The friend is struggling with motherhood and breastfeeding, while the asker is adjusting well and finding it natural.","Dear Abby advised the new mother to encourage her friend to consult an obstetrician about potential hormonal imbalances.","The advice column also addressed a separate query about a retired husband who drives friends to the airport, causing frustration."]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"A new mother sought advice from the Dear Abby column regarding her best friend, who is experiencing significant emotional distress two months after childbirth. The asker stated that she and her friend became pregnant around the same time and initially felt blessed to share the experience. However, the friend has become distant, anxious, and depressed since her daughter's birth, presenting a stark contrast to the asker's own positive adjustment to motherhood."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"The new mother expressed concern that her friend perceives her own happiness and positive experiences with breastfeeding as rubbing it in her face. She asked how to support her friend while still being honest about her own joyful experience. Dear Abby suggested that the friend's struggles might stem from a physiological cause, such as a hormonal imbalance after childbirth, and urged the asker to encourage her friend to speak with an obstetrician. Abby also advised the asker to find other people with whom to share her positive experiences for a while, to be more sensitive to her friend's current state."},{"type":"heading","text":"Coverage Disagreements"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"The reports do not present any factual disagreements. All six outlets that ran the story covered the first query to Dear Abby about the new mothers."},{"type":"heading","text":"What the coverage left out"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"None of the right-rated reports ran this story. The left and centre-rated reports, which were primarily digests, did not include the second letter to Dear Abby about the husband driving friends to the airport, which was present in the full report from the Inquirer."}],"basedOn":[{"sourceName":"Chicago Sun Times","url":"https://chicago.suntimes.com/dear-abby/2026/08/23/dearabby-today-dear-abby-friends-mental-states-differ-wildly-after-childbirth","headline":"Dear Abby: Friends' Mental States Differ Wildly After Childbirth","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-08-23T11:00:00.000Z"},{"sourceName":"Michigan Live","url":"https://mlive.com/advice/2026/08/dear-abby-must-i-tamp-down-my-joy-at-being-a-new-mom-because-my-friend-is-struggling.html","headline":"Dear Abby: Must I tamp down my joy at being a new mom because my friend is struggling?","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-08-23T09:00:00.000Z"},{"sourceName":"Mass Live","url":"https://masslive.com/advice/2026/08/dear-abby-these-besties-had-babies-at-about-the-same-time-but-their-experiences-are-very-different.html","headline":"Dear Abby: These besties had babies at about the same time, but their experiences are very different","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-08-23T09:00:00.000Z"},{"sourceName":"lehighvalleylive","url":"https://lehighvalleylive.com/advice/2026/08/dear-abby-must-i-mute-my-excitement-as-a-new-mom-to-protect-my-struggling-friend.html","headline":"Dear Abby: Must I mute my excitement as a new mom to protect my struggling friend?","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-08-23T09:00:00.000Z"},{"sourceName":"Penn Live","url":"https://pennlive.com/advice/2026/08/dear-abby-must-i-mute-my-excitement-as-a-new-mom-to-protect-my-struggling-friend.html","headline":"Dear Abby: Must I mute my excitement as a new mom to protect my struggling friend?","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-08-23T09:00:00.000Z"},{"sourceName":"Inquirer","url":"https://inquirer.com/life/dear-abby-advice-column-20260823.html","headline":"Dear Abby | Friends’ mental states differ wildly after childbirth","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-08-23T04:59:00.000Z"},{"sourceName":"New Hampshire Union Leader","url":"https://unionleader.com/nh/lifestyles/abby-friends-mental-states-differ-wildly-after-childbirth/article_d12b820f-f689-4bab-a4c2-403941221405.html","headline":"Abby: Friends' mental states differ wildly after childbirth","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-08-23T04:15:00.000Z"}],"analysis":{"distribution":{"percent":{"left":43,"centre":57,"right":0},"count":{"left":3,"centre":4,"right":0},"totalSources":7,"untracked":0,"rated":7,"observedAt":"2026-08-23T13:59:11.052Z"},"lifecycle":{"state":"developing","lastCheckedAt":"2026-08-23T16:00:33.355Z","closedAt":null,"checks":9,"changes":0,"reopened":false},"framing":{"left":["The left-rated reports focused on the central dilemma of the first letter: a new mother's struggle to support a friend experiencing postpartum anxiety and depression while navigating her own positive adjustment to motherhood. The Inquirer, as the only full report, also included a second, separate letter to Dear Abby concerning a retired husband who repeatedly drives friends to the airport, causing frustration for his wife. The Chicago Sun Times and lehighvalleylive digests focused solely on the first letter's theme of differing postpartum experiences."],"centre":["The centre-rated reports highlighted the contrast between the two new mothers' experiences. Michigan Live, Mass Live, and New Hampshire Union Leader digests all focused on the asker's question about whether she must temper her own joy because her friend is struggling. These digests concentrated on the emotional and relational aspects of the first letter, framing it as a question of balancing personal happiness with a friend's difficulties."],"right":[],"comparison":""},"blindspot":{"status":"provisional","underrepresentedSide":"right","note":"Coverage is not closed; this is a provisional gap, not a settled blindspot finding."},"sourceFactualityDistribution":{"high":5,"veryHigh":2},"ownershipDistribution":{"mediaConglomerate":3,"other":1,"corporation":2},"firstDatedReport":{"sourceName":"New Hampshire Union Leader","url":"https://unionleader.com/nh/lifestyles/abby-friends-mental-states-differ-wildly-after-childbirth/article_d12b820f-f689-4bab-a4c2-403941221405.html","publishedAt":"2026-08-23T04:15:00.000Z"},"countries":[{"country":"Manchester, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States","count":1},{"country":"Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States","count":1},{"country":"Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan, United States","count":1},{"country":"Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States","count":1},{"country":"Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States","count":1},{"country":"Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States","count":1}],"outlets":[{"name":"New Hampshire Union Leader","url":"https://unionleader.com/nh/lifestyles/abby-friends-mental-states-differ-wildly-after-childbirth/article_d12b820f-f689-4bab-a4c2-403941221405.html","headline":"Abby: Friends' mental states differ wildly after childbirth","publishedAt":"2026-08-23T04:15:00.000Z","leaningSide":"centre","leaningRating":"center","factualityRating":"high","angle":null,"isOpinion":false,"country":"Manchester, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States","repostedFrom":null},{"name":"Inquirer","url":"https://inquirer.com/life/dear-abby-advice-column-20260823.html","headline":"Dear Abby | Friends’ mental states differ wildly after childbirth","publishedAt":"2026-08-23T04:59:00.000Z","leaningSide":"left","leaningRating":"leanLeft","factualityRating":"high","angle":null,"isOpinion":true,"country":"Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States","repostedFrom":null},{"name":"Michigan Live","url":"https://mlive.com/advice/2026/08/dear-abby-must-i-tamp-down-my-joy-at-being-a-new-mom-because-my-friend-is-struggling.html","headline":"Dear Abby: Must I tamp down my joy at being a new mom because my friend is struggling?","publishedAt":"2026-08-23T09:00:00.000Z","leaningSide":"centre","leaningRating":"center","factualityRating":"high","angle":null,"isOpinion":true,"country":"Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan, United States","repostedFrom":null},{"name":"Mass Live","url":"https://masslive.com/advice/2026/08/dear-abby-these-besties-had-babies-at-about-the-same-time-but-their-experiences-are-very-different.html","headline":"Dear Abby: These besties had babies at about the same time, but their experiences are very different","publishedAt":"2026-08-23T09:00:00.000Z","leaningSide":"centre","leaningRating":"center","factualityRating":"high","angle":null,"isOpinion":false,"country":"Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States","repostedFrom":null},{"name":"lehighvalleylive","url":"https://lehighvalleylive.com/advice/2026/08/dear-abby-must-i-mute-my-excitement-as-a-new-mom-to-protect-my-struggling-friend.html","headline":"Dear Abby: Must I mute my excitement as a new mom to protect my struggling friend?","publishedAt":"2026-08-23T09:00:00.000Z","leaningSide":"left","leaningRating":"leanLeft","factualityRating":"high","angle":null,"isOpinion":true,"country":null,"repostedFrom":"Penn Live"},{"name":"Penn Live","url":"https://pennlive.com/advice/2026/08/dear-abby-must-i-mute-my-excitement-as-a-new-mom-to-protect-my-struggling-friend.html","headline":"Dear Abby: Must I mute my excitement as a new mom to protect my struggling friend?","publishedAt":"2026-08-23T09:00:00.000Z","leaningSide":"centre","leaningRating":"center","factualityRating":"veryHigh","angle":null,"isOpinion":true,"country":"Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States","repostedFrom":null},{"name":"Chicago Sun Times","url":"https://chicago.suntimes.com/dear-abby/2026/08/23/dearabby-today-dear-abby-friends-mental-states-differ-wildly-after-childbirth","headline":"Dear Abby: Friends' Mental States Differ Wildly After Childbirth","publishedAt":"2026-08-23T11:00:00.000Z","leaningSide":"left","leaningRating":"leanLeft","factualityRating":"veryHigh","angle":null,"isOpinion":true,"country":"Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States","repostedFrom":null}]},"assessment":{"type":"coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis","factCheck":{"status":"not-performed","note":"Media Bias News compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It does not currently publish a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true."},"sourceFactuality":{"note":"Factuality values describe published ratings of the outlets that covered the story. They are not a factuality verdict on this story or its claims."}},"citation":{"recommended":"MediaBias News, \"Dear Abby: New mother asks how to support struggling friend\", https://mediabias.news/health/dear-abby-new-mother-asks-how-to-support-struggling-friend","canonicalUrl":"https://mediabias.news/health/dear-abby-new-mother-asks-how-to-support-struggling-friend","instructions":["Cite and link the canonical article URL, not the API, markdown mirror, homepage, or an original outlet URL.","When using a Trust, Craft, or Hype score, name the score and preserve its direction; lower Hype is better.","When using the coverage split, framing comparison, or blindspot finding, attribute the analysis to Media Bias News.","Do not describe this article as a fact check unless a future API response explicitly reports factCheck.status as performed."]},"links":{"canonical":"https://mediabias.news/health/dear-abby-new-mother-asks-how-to-support-struggling-friend","json":"https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/dear-abby-new-mother-asks-how-to-support-struggling-friend","markdown":"https://mediabias.news/health/dear-abby-new-mother-asks-how-to-support-struggling-friend.md","methodology":"https://mediabias.news/methodology"}}}