To be a mother of a kid is a happy cause for everyone. All of the family members have been waiting for a healthy, beautiful baby. Sometimes mother would be not happy with her newborn. It’s not unusual: it’s estimated that more than half of women experience what is called “postpartum sadness,” baby blues,” or “maternity melancholy” two to three days after giving birth. This situation can last for a couple of weeks.
What is postpartum depression?
It’s a normal, physiological thing: the woman’s body has been making a huge effort during pregnancy and childbirth. Many new mothers are physically exhausted and anemic, and now they have to take care of the baby, with the consequent sleep deprivation, especially if she already has other children. And all of this while she’s in the midst of hormonal changes and sometimes other additional difficulties—financial struggles, being far from her family, etc.
But postpartum depression is much more than baby blues: that may cause serious consequences for the mother’s and baby’s health. In its extreme form, it can degenerate into psychotic depression or mania, and may even require the mother to be hospitalized.
Postpartum depression isn’t a transitory episode of sadness: it can be seemed weeks or even months after childbirth, or can even be the exacerbation of depression that began before or during pregnancy. It affects around 7 to 19 percent of women and is especially likely when dealing with women who suffer from bipolar disorder or major depression due to other causes.
Risk factors also include financial difficulties, problems at work, or—still worse—grieving the death of a family member or close friend.
What is the main complication associated with postpartum depression?
Many women are not ready to admit to their symptoms of sadness since they feel ashamed or stigmatized. And they are preoccupied because their child might need medical assistance.
Obviously, the symptoms of depression are significantly more intense if the mother was not prepared to welcome a new child. Sometimes it may due to questions of age (such as teen pregnancy), or due to the pregnancy being unwanted—or when the father has abandoned her, or she is overworked at her job.
But even in these circumstances, social aspects are not the determining factor: there are women who apparently have no problems of this kind, and who experience depression just the same. Why? Because hormonal and psychological factors (lack of affection in childhood, for example) also contribute to depression.
Why is it important to identify?
It is important to give great help to mothers who experience these symptoms because treating them preventively could avoid many cases of unnecessary psychological suffering. The mother’s stability is basic for the newborn baby and its wellness. It is important that she ensure that the baby is well fed, getting proper sleep, and experiencing peace and calm during the first few months. It is during this first stage that the baby develops emotional attachment, which is so important for his or her mental health as an adult.
Some symptoms of moderate depression include depressed mood beyond what is normal for that person, general loss of interest, and decreased energy.
Depression may be categorized as moderate or severe if the intensity of any of the following symptoms increases: lack of confidence, excessive feelings of guilt, recurring thoughts of suicide, lack of concentration, excessive agitation, difficulties sleeping, or radical changes in appetite (a notable decrease or increase).
If postpartum depression is detected late or is not discovered at all, it can have serious and undesirable consequences. Let us keep in mind that the symptoms can increase with the return of menstruation, due to the hormonal fluctuations involved.
To cope with these situations, it is better to ask for help from professionals (doctors, psychologists, and psychiatrists) in order to keep the situation under control and intervene with antidepressants when necessary.
Episodes of severe mood swings, such as postpartum psychosis, are a psychiatric emergency and almost always require the woman to be hospitalized, together with her baby. Antidepressants are effective but each woman reacts at varied levels and so it is recommended that she be under the care of a specialist—also after ceasing treatment, so as to avoid relapses.
There are women who begin to experience symptoms of depression before getting pregnant. This is why psychological help could even begin before childbirth as a preventative measure.
Women are to be well-informed about these subjects, going to childbirth preparation courses with their spouse or partner. They should have a person they trust within their own family with whom they can talk and whom they can ask for help if necessary. Ideally, it should be their spouse or partner.
It is important to decrease work obligations and carefully protect sleep time so as to be able to rest and foster a peaceful atmosphere in the home.
Women to be more understanding with themselves and accept all the help that might be offered, leaving aside non-essential tasks. If the weeks pass and she doesn’t feel better, the best course of action is to openly ask for help.
Maternity is a difficult period. It is really a life-changing matter and if you were expecting all your feelings to be positive after having a baby. What matters most is to see all of this as a moment of transition, as something very normal, with the certainty that soon all will return to a proper equilibrium.
The family should prioritize the mother’s both mental and physical health. The emotional warmth of children throughout their lives begins in the first weeks and months of life. A mother’s emotional stability is an advantage that every child should enjoy.