Postpartum Women: A Case Study

Postpartum depression (PPD) exists as a part of the spectrum of major depression, coded with a modifier for postpartum onset which is defined as an episode of depression, mania, or

Post Partum depression causes a new mother to become depressed to a severe extent. PPD causes its patients to fall to an uncomfortable mental state. PPD patients feel discouraged, hostile,

However Postpartum Depression is much more severe. Some mother. may have suicidal thoughts, and most feel completely inadequate of taking care of their newborns.“approximately 10 to 15% of women suffer from postpartum disorder including Postpartum depression” Postpartum progress says, “So let’s split the difference between the high (20%) and low estimates of PPD (11%) and say that an average of 15% of all postpartum women in the US suffer, as the CDC reported in its 2008 PRAMS research.”(Katherine Stone, 2010) The percentage given for women with PPD is rather low, but these are only the mothers that have been screened for PPD. Imagine how many women are not being screened for PPD, or don’t know they have PPD. The government should be working on ways that the medical community can reach out to women with PPD, actually taking notice of the real number of women in the US with PPD, which is unlikely to be 15%. This leaving a lot of women not knowing what PPD is, or if they are going through

Postpartum depression, which is the most prevalent of all maternal depressive disorders, is said to be the hidden epidemic of the 21st century. (1) Despite its high prevalence rate of 10-15% and increased incidence, postpartum depression often goes undetected, and thus untreated. (2) Nearly 50% of postpartum depression cases are untreated. As a result, these cases are put at a high risk of being exposed to the severe and progressive nature of their depressive disorder. (3) In other words, the health conditions of untreated postpartum depression cases worsen and progress to one of their utmost stages, and they are: postpartum obsessive compulsive disorder, postpartum panic disorder, postpartum post traumatic stress, and postpartum psychosis.

It’s common for women to experience the “baby blues” — feeling stressed, sad, anxious, lonely, tired or weepy — following their baby’s birth. But some women, up to 1 in 7, experience a much more serious mood disorder — postpartum depression. (Postpartum psychosis, a condition that may involve psychotic symptoms like delusions or hallucinations, is a different disorder and is very rare.) Unlike the baby blues, PPD doesn’t go away on its own. It can appear days or even months after delivering a baby; it can last for many weeks or months if left untreated. PPD can make it hard for you to get through the day, and it can affect your ability to take care of your baby, or yourself. PPD can affect any woman—women with easy pregnancies or problem pregnancies,

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

The authors discussed the need for effective treatments to address the high global rates of PPD and maternal depression up to two years after delivery (Letourneau et al., 2015, p. 1588). The research problem is the efficacy of TBPS in diminishing maternal depression up to two years postpartum (Letourneau et al., 2015, p. 1588). This problem arose due to three main factors; increased PPD and maternal depression rates, and existent theoretical frameworks about TBPS with early PPD.

Postpartum psychiatric disorders, particularly depression, has become the most underdiagnosed complication in the United States. It can lead to increased costs of medical care, inappropriate medical care, child abuse and neglect, discontinuation of breastfeeding, and family dysfunction and adversely affects early brain development (Earls, 2010). Over 400,000 infants are born to mothers that are depressed. One of 7 new mothers (14.5%) experience depressive episodes that impair maternal role function. An episode of major or minor depression that occurs during pregnancy or the first 12 months after birth is called perinatal or postpartum depression (Wisner, Chambers & Sit, 2006). Mothers with postpartum depression experience feelings of extreme sadness, anxiety, and exhaustion that may make it difficult for them to complete daily care activities for themselves or for others (Postpartum Depression). The six stages of postpartum are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance and PTSD. These stages may affect any women regardless of age, race, ethnicity, or economic status. However only a physician can diagnose a woman with postpartum depression. It does not occur because of something a mother does or does not do, it’s a combination of physical and emotional factors. After childbirth, the levels of hormones in a woman’s body quickly drop; which may lead to chemical changes in her brain (Postpartum Depression). Unbalanced hormones may trigger mood swings.

The birthing process generally leaves women with overwhelming joy and happiness. However, some women do experience a period of postpartum blues lasting for a few days or at most a couple of weeks but goes away with the adjustment of having a baby (Postpartum Depression, 2013). A condition called Postpartum Depression Disorder (PPD) leaves a dark gray cloud over 10-20% of woman after birth that is recognized in individuals 3 weeks to a year after the delivery of their baby (Bobo & Yawn, 2014). PPD leaves new mothers feeling lonely, anxious, and hopeless (Bobo at el, 2014). Postpartum Depression is a cross cutting disorder that can affect any woman after the delivery of a baby regardless of race, socioeconomic status, age, or education level (Postpartum Depression, 2013). Although this disorder affects more than 10% of women the article Concise Review for Physicians and Other Clinicians: Postpartum Depression reports that less than half of women with PPD are actually diagnosed with this condition (Bobo at el, 2014). It is important that postpartum women and their support systems receive education on what PPD consist of and ways to recognize the signs and symptoms of PPD so that a diagnosis is not overlooked. Early diagnosis is important because early recognition and treatment of the disorder yields for better results when treating individuals with PPD. In this paper I will deliver information about PPD based on recent literature,

Depression is a common problem during and after pregnancy; about thirteen percent of pregnant women and new mothers have depression (Women’s Health, par. 2). According to the National Institute of Mental Health, postpartum depression is defined as a mood disorder that can affect women after childbirth (National Institute of Mental Health, par. 2). Even though the mothers that suffer from postpartum depression often think it is their fault, postpartum depression can happen to any mother. This is because it is a disorder that is out of their control, it is common among many mothers and it is usually caused by a hormonal imbalance.

Society must realize postpartum depression is treatable and manageable. Depression of any kind is a serious illness that requires not only further study, but a shift in thinking so it is less misunderstood and more widely recognized. Early identification of PPD symptoms must be increased in order to alleviate the tremendous burden this illness causes on families and new mothers and while current diagnosis practices are expanding to include earlier identification and increasing successful treatment, it is critical that the medical community work together to expand and add to the prevention of postpartum depression. In conjunction with a greater tolerance and understanding of this mostly hidden disease, perhaps depression will no longer be such a hidden and misunderstood mental

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.

As mental health in America is finally being addressed and more research is seen, it is important to look at the potential causes or correlations that lead to common diagnoses for patients. According to Brummelte and Galea (2010), “depression affects approximately 1 in 5 people, with the incidence being 2-3x higher in women than in men.” Postpartum depression (PPD), a subset of this debilitating disease, has an estimated prevalence rate of 13-19% with another estimated 50% that are undiagnosed (O’hara and McCabe, 2013). As a whole, it has the same symptoms as major depressive disorder but diagnosis occurs within 0-4 weeks of giving birth (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Part of this lack of diagnosis is due to a multitude of healthcare

In the United States and many other countries many women do not seek for treatment because they have many concerns and fear about medications. Depressed breastfeeding women concern about the exposure of the infants to medications. Also postpartum depression can lead to a suicide. Postpartum has been linked with some neurotransmitter such as dopamine and serotonin, but research continues working on that. Therefore, it’s very important to inform mothers about postpartum depression, so they will be able to recognize any sign and seek for help. Postnatal depression can be identified by the use of screening tools or interview schedule to diagnose women who are at high risks, then as result of these methods they can receive an adequate and early intervention using psychological and psychosocial interventions, as well as psychopharmacological interventions (Mallikarjum

Randomized controlled clinical trials have shown that TBPS is effective, acceptable and lowers PPD rates and symptoms during the early postpartum period (Dennis 2003, 2010, Dennis & Hodnett 2007, Dennis et al. 2009, Matthey 2009). Social support is a psychosocial therapy acceptable to mothers that improves PPD symptoms and rates (Dennis & Chung-Lee 2006). Social support is effective because mothers with PPD have low or deficient social support (Beck 2001, Xie et al. 2009, Sawyer et al. 2010, Dennis et al. 2012, Eastwood et al. 2012), low partner empathy (Fisher et al. 2012) and greater social isolation (Eastwood et al. 2012). Social support improves PPD through decreased social isolation (Nielsen Forman et al. 2000), improved self-care and