What is postpartum depression?
Postpartum depression is a medical condition that occurs when a woman experiences symptoms of sadness, anxiety, and exhaustion for an extended period after giving birth. It usually begins within 1 to 3 weeks after giving birth.
This condition also affects 1 in 8 women, which is about 12.5 %, making it the most common complication for new mothers.
Although many mothers may experience the “baby blues”, which can last anywhere from a day to a week or two after giving birth, postpartum depression occurs when these feelings are more extreme or intense, and last for a much longer period. Postpartum depression can also begin during pregnancy.
Symptoms of postpartum depression:
- Severe mood swings
- Excessive crying
- Difficulty bonding or connecting with one’s baby
- Loss of appetite
- Eating more than usual
- Insomnia
- Sleeping more than usual
- Overwhelming fatigue
- Inability to enjoy time with family or friends
- Fear of not being a good mother
- Feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, and guilt
- Thoughts of harming oneself or one’s baby
How can postpartum depression affect one’s baby?
Postpartum depression can yield negative consequences on both a parent and their child, making it important to seek help if one starts to experience symptoms of this condition.
Common negative effects may be skipping postpartum check-ups or ignoring the healthcare advice of one’s provider. Others can include a reluctance to or lack of breastfeeding. A woman suffering from postpartum depression may even miss her baby’s healthcare signals, meaning that if her baby is sick, it may not receive the immediate attention that it needs. This can be a result of a mother’s inability to bond with her baby.
What causes postpartum depression?
Although there is not one known cause of this condition, several factors contribute to a woman’s likelihood of struggling with the disease.
One factor is genetics and a personal or family history of depression. Since genes are inherited by offspring, if other women in a mother’s family history struggled with depression, especially postpartum depression, she is then more likely to also encounter this complication.
Hormones can also play a role in postpartum depression. During pregnancy, the hormones estrogen and progesterone are at extremely high levels. However, during the 24 hours after giving birth, these hormones drop drastically. This rapid decrease may lead to feelings of depression.
How is postpartum depression treated?
When feelings of hopelessness make it hard to care for a newborn or do daily tasks, it is important to reach out to one’s doctor to get treatment. Although this may seem shameful or embarrassing, postpartum depression is quite common, and getting help is of extreme importance so that a mother and her baby both receive the care that they need.
Engaging in counseling and therapy is a great option when hoping to sort through such difficult emotions. This can happen through counseling such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which can help women work through their thoughts and change patterns in how they act. Another viable option is participating in support groups in order to interact with other women who are struggling with similar situations.
If such counseling does not help on its own, women may also consider taking medicine. This can include typical antidepressants; however, not all are safe to utilize while breastfeeding. Or, one’s provider may suggest wearing an estrogen patch to replace the estrogen lost after pregnancy.
Sources:
Guerrero, Ypani. “When Postpartum Depression Shows up as Intense Anger.” Hoag, 29 Mar. 2023, http://www.hoag.org/featured-news/when-postpartum-depression-shows-up-as-intense-anger/.
“Postpartum Depression.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 24 Nov. 2022, http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/postpartum-depression/symptoms-causes/syc-20376617.
“Postpartum Depression.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 24 Nov. 2022, http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/postpartum-depression/symptoms-causes/syc-20376617.
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