Postpartum depression (PPD) affects roughly one in six women and can develop at any time in the first year after a baby is born and may persist for months if left untreated.
The more common “baby blues” effects almost 80% of women and makes an appearance between day three and day ten of giving birth. The baby blues are caused by rapidly changing hormone levels in the mother, predominantly progesterone. Typical symptoms are weepiness, a sense of inexplicable sadness and a feeling of being overwhelmed by even the most trivial incident. By the end of a fortnight however, these symptoms depart as the body adjusts to the new hormonal regime of being not pregnant for the first time in nine months.
The postpartum depression is far more severe and can occur quite suddenly or alternatively the symptoms can come on so gradually that neither the mother herself nor her family understands what is happening until the condition is quite well-established.
Typical symptoms are feeling low, feelings of inadequacy as a mother, feeling hopeless about the future, anxiety and panic attacks, unrealistic fears about the baby’s health, and inability to sleep or alternatively sleeping excessively, the change in appetite either in the form of over eating or under eating, being unable to cope with a daily routine, feeling physically exhausted, empty and tearful, and finally, thoughts of suicide.
Many women are primed to experienced postpartum depression due to a history of depression in their lives or, alternatively, a stressful period prior to the birth of their baby. Both situations signal that a given mother has the potential to suffer from postpartum depression and your doctor should be alerted to either a history of depression or current problems during pregnancy.
Pregnant mothers who already display a predisposition for depression can then be carefully monitored in the weeks and months following the birth of their child so that any sign of postpartum depression developing can be immediately spotted and treated.
However, it is also possible for postpartum depression to appear out of the blue. In this case it can be perplexing for both the mother and her partner to understand what is causing the changes in the behavior of the mother. These changes can put extreme strain on the partnership particularly when the diagnosis has not yet been made. One said it is clear that postpartum depression is present, and help is made available in the form of counseling and at times medication, improvement can be seen.
Contact Beth McHugh for further assistance regarding this issue. You can also join a discussion on this particular topic by contacting Beth McHugh via her website at youronlinecounselor.com
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