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Postpartum depression

admin | Feb 20, 2010 | 0 comments

All women doesn’t feel happy after having baby but they have mood swings, feel happy and very next minute fell sad and start crying, 80% of women have this symptoms which usually go away within a week is called “baby blue” but some women have more sever symptoms like depression, unable to concentrate, decrease appetite and insomnia and even guilt having the baby, which last longer than a week is called post partum depression and in rare case women may develop postpartum psychosis which is very serious condition includes all symptoms of postpartum depression and thoughts of hurting baby.

Symptoms:

Felling sad
Frequently crying
Felling irritable ,restless
Loss of interest
Decrease appetite or loss of appetite
Difficult sleeping
Feeling worthless ,guilt
Unexplained weight gain or loss
Spells of anger towards others
Showing little interest in baby
Increased anxiety or panic attacks’
Feeling less attractive physically and sexually

Many women get this symptoms right after childbirth but some doesn’t begin to fell depressed until several weeks or months later .Depression that occurs within 6 months of childbirth may be postpartum depression.

Risk factor:

A history of depression
Formula feeding rather than breast feeding
Cigarette smoking
Low self esteem
Prenatal depression during pregnancy
Prenatal anxiety
Life stress
Low social support
Single parent
Low socioeconomic status
Wanted pregnancy

Pathophysiology:

The exact cause is still unknown but change in hormone level during pregnancy and right after childbirth produce chemical changes in the brain that may play a part in causing depression.

Diagnosis:

The diagnosis of postpartum depression mainly on symptoms.

Treatment:

Women need to taken seriously when symptoms occurs .This is a two-fold treatment.

First self care at home

Take care of yourself .Get as much rest as you can
Try not to spend much time alone
Take healthy food
Talk to other mother
Take a walk see a friends

Second, support counseling and antidepressant drugs like fluoxetine, sertraline, paroxetine, citalopam, lithium or valproic acid and if symptoms are serious consults your doctor immediately.

Conclusion

Post partum depression usually goes away within month .If it remain long and not treated it can hurt the baby-mother relationship and could be dangerous if the mother considers hurting her child or herself.