Post-Partum Depression (PPD) is the last thing on most mother’s minds during pregnancy and labor. However, for a number women after childbirth, the joy that is expected doesn’t arrive. The joy isn’t there when they bring the baby home, and it continues to evade them well into taking care of the baby. So what happens during such an emotional and delicate time in life? This paper will attempt to delve into the intricacies of PPD and its effects on the mother and the family unit. Symptoms, risk factors, historical treatments, current treatments, complications, and preventative techniques will be included. Post-Partum Depression is characterized first and foremost as an irritable, debilitating form of depression manifesting within four weeks to thirty weeks of giving birth (Andrews-Fike, 1999). Every patient present with various types and levels of symptoms. Symptoms can include those similar to other depressive disorders such as insomnia, fatigue, and anxiety. Giallo, 2015 assessed several emotions in their study including fear, blame, and anxiety. Sadness, helplessness, and tiredness were also included. Finally, suicidal thoughts were addressed. All of these are possible symptoms under PPD. Historically, PPD was not considered an actual disorder, and was ignored by many women, doctors, and therapists alike. Later on, when more complaints were brought to doctors’ attention, PPD was classified as a form of neuroticism. These “neurotic” women were treated with electroconvulsive
Postpartum mood disorders is defined as a spectrum of illness including postpartum blues, postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis. The postpartum blues are extremely common and no specific treatment is usually needed. Postpartum depression is less common and may significantly impact both the health of the mother and baby. Postpartum psychosis is extremely rare with clinical features including mania, psychotic thoughts, severe depression, and other thought disorders, and requires hospitalization. This paper will focus on reviewing and discussing postpartum depression.
In summary, postpartum depression is the most widespread complication of childbirth, and the lack of diagnosis in postpartum depression cases results in the deterioration of their conditions. Deterioration arises in the form of progression stages of postpartum depression, and it varies from a case to another. Thus, preventive measures ought to be taken by detecting the onset of postpartum depression and providing early treatment. Also, the implications drawn from the aforementioned details may aid mental healthcare providers in the pursuit of better treatment
What is Postpartum Depression (PPD)? How would you know if you had it? Is it unavoidable, something you just have to endure? Fortunately, Postpartum depression is more akin to a temporary condition that can be managed and counterbalanced with insight, sensitivity, and support. What begins as the “baby blues” is estimated to affect as many as upwards of 80% of women after a birth. Although some purport it is caused by hormonal changes, there remains a lack of consensus as to
Postpartum depression in a common experience for newer mothers to have after childbirth. It is meant to last only a few days but can extend for a few months if it is severe. It is thought that it is caused by extreme hormonal shifts in the body after childbirth. If not treated in time, it has a potential chance harm the mother or the child. It is important that the mother feels appreciated and respected during this time. This article will help by giving further information in postpartum depression and further help the claims of how gender roles can further depression.
Postpartum major depression is a type of depression that affecting as many as eighty percent of new mothers at some point in their childs first few weeks of infancy. Scientists have categorized their findings on postpartum depression into three basic categories. These include: the conditions surrounding the birth of the child, diagonosis and treatment of the disease, and the the long term affects of postpartum depression on the mother`s child. Postpartum major depression is not to be confused with Postpartum Psychosis, which is a rare condition with some bizarre symptoms including: confusion and disorientation, hallucinations and delusions, paranoia, and attempts to harm oneself or the baby. One mother who
The Center for Disease Control estimates that 1 in 20 people suffer from depression (2014). Although widely recognized and somewhat easy to diagnose, depression is an ignored and almost hidden, disease. In women, the statistics are especially grim for those who are pregnant or were recently pregnant. A great number of women suffer from postpartum depression; an illness which is often overlooked, misdiagnosed and untreated. Postpartum depression (PPD) has been defined as an emotional disorder that occurs in an estimated 10-15% of all women after childbirth (Liberto, 2010). Postpartum depression not only impacts the mother, but can cause long-term psychological challenges for the baby and create emotional turmoil for all family members.
Postpartum depression (PPD) affects about eighty-five percent of new mothers and persists as long as a year after childbirth (Texas Medical Association, 2015). In spite of the scope of this problem and the benefits of screening women, it’s not standard procedure (New York State Department Of Health, 2016). This policy brief was written for healthcare providers that treat new mothers at risk for PPD with the goal of improving screening and the number of women receiving appropriate treatment. The recommendations address measures to improve early identification and follow-up care for women found to have PPD.
Introduction: Pregnancy and postpartum are considered as high risk periods for the emergence of psychiatric disorders. Postnatal depression (PND) is one of the most common psychopathology in these phases. PND describes non-psychotic depressive episodes, with loss of interest, insomnia, and loss of energy experienced by mothers within the period of 4 to 6 weeks after delivery [1]. A wide range of PND prevalence (10-42%) has been reported across the globe [2-11]. It is considered a serious public health issue because of its devastating effects on mothers, families, and infants or children [12]. Accurate estimates of PND prevalence are difficult to obtain as cultural norms may affect women’s reporting of their symptoms and
Postpartum Depression is depression that occurs after performing childbirth. This condition is often mistaken for the “baby blues” which has similar symptoms such as tearfulness, extreme sadness, anxiety, self-doubt, and fatigue. However, the “baby blues” goes away within a few weeks after and unlike the “baby blues”, postpartum depression can cause suicidal thoughts, difficulty making decisions, and feeling too exhausted to get out of bed for hours. If postpartum depression is not treated properly or soon enough it can drastically effect the lives of those who have developed it as well as their families. This is because a mother is a very important figure in one’s life because she is the first person that an individual ever makes an emotional connection with; she’s also the first one to play the role of supplying nourishment to her child. Consequently, “PPD can affect familial relationships and a woman’s capacity to care for and bond with her newborn. Some research indicates that young children of depressed mothers are at increased risk of delay in cognitive and language development” (McGarry, Kim, Sheng, Egger, & Baksh, 2009). Postpartum depression can take hold of a woman and her family’s life and is one of the most common complications of childbirth. However, “postpartum depression (PPD) is less frequently detected, treated, or the focus of obstetric research” (McGarry et al., 2009). This is because mothers suffering with postpartum depression are unable to seek proper
Most the time, mothers with postpartum psychosis do not have control of their own emotions, making them very harmful to themselves and to others. Psychology Today writer Mark Levy explains that though PPD is serious, the severity of this type of psychosis has a “predominant symptom which is a "break" with reality-a loss of the ability to discern what is real from what is not” (Levy, 2002). Mothers with psychosis may hear voices, have hallucinations or delusions. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research have determined that Postpartum women with obsessional thoughts have been noted to have aggressive obsessions to harm their infants (Coates, 2004). Osvaldo Mejia, who had a personal experience with this illness involving his wife, explains his encounter: “She complained that she was tired but could not sleep and ate little. She told him she was "scared" but could not explain why” (Black, 2013). Soon after, Mejia realized that his wife must have been suffering from postpartum psychosis when he found his nine-month-old baby boy stabbed in his crib. Many people think that psychosis and bipolar disorder are connected in some ways. Many research has proven that there might be a relationship between the two disorders, and even some misdiagnoses.
Only in recent history have significant strides been made to understand and treat postpartum depression. While the psychiatric disorder was written as long ago as 700 BC, by Hippocrates, it was not officially recognized as a medical diagnosis until the nineteenth century. Even in today’s society, individuals tend to harbor ill feelings toward postpartum depression, likely due to cultural beliefs and miseducation. According to the U.S National library of medicine postpartum depression is “moderate to severe depression in a woman after she has given birth, occurring soon after delivery or up to a year later”, (U.S National Library of Medicine, 2014). Women have been most widely identified as being impacted by postpartum depression, and for decades, research has focused on them, with limited data related to males. However, recent studies focusing on male postpartum depression, not only prove that men are affected by the disorder; potentially to the same extent as women, but also suggest that there is a likely correlation between either parent having the condition, and it consequently affecting both parents. Recent studies have found that, “prenatal and postpartum depression was evident in about 10% of men in the reviewed studies and was relatively higher in the 3- to 6-month postpartum period. Paternal depression also showed a moderate positive correlation with maternal depression” (Paulson and Bazemore, 2010, p. 1961). Given this
Postpartum depression, or PPD, is a mental health disorder that occurs in women prior to the birth of a newborn infant. PPD is caused by a dramatic shift in hormones occurring anywhere from a month to a year after childbirth. Because of the hormonal changes, women may feel that pregnancy is a time of happiness, fear, excitement, exhaustion, and even sadness. Expecting mothers may also feel a multitude of emotions after delivery as well. Postpartum depression in new mothers is a debilitating illness that can affect her everyday life, her family’s life and her newborn infants’.
In the United States, as well as many other countries and cultures, postpartum depression is prevalent, but many times overlooked or not diagnosed. Postpartum depression is a “mood disorder that occurs with alarming frequency with documented prevalence of 10% to 15% during the first 3 months after delivery” (Horowitz, et. al, 2013, p. 287). Throughout hospitals, nurses are being educated about postpartum depression, which allows them to educate patients on what postpartum depression is and how to recognize the signs. If unrecognized and left untreated, women are at an increased risk of future depressive episodes and functional impairment (Katon et. al, 2014). There are many initiatives in place to increase the amount of screening and education that is occurring for postpartum depression.
Postpartum depression is a category of depression that can occur when a mother has a baby. The symptoms of postpartum depression are similar to the symptoms of major depression. Postpartum depression is often experienced during the first month that the baby is born (Bolyn 2017). Some women experience postpartum depression during pregnancy (Bolyn 2017). A few symptoms of postpartum depression are excessive crying, loss of appetite, feelings of hopelessness, and difficulty concentrating (Bolyn 2017). Teen pregnancy contributes to a small percentage of women who are diagnosed with postpartum depression (Bolyn 2017). A pregnant woman is considered a teen mom if she is from the ages of
At the core of the spectrum lies postpartum depression, which is increasingly recognized as a unique and serious complication of childbirth. The majority of patients suffer from this illness for