Don’t let “baby blues” become post-partum depression!What is post-partum depression and how is it different from other kinds of depression?Post-partum depression is a fairly common condition, arising in between fifteen to eighty percent of women following childbirth. It's probably co-caused by a lot of factors, but seems to be triggered in a lot of women several days after giving birth, during a period when their bodies are experiencing unprecedented changes in hormone levels, especially with progesterone, estrogen, and prolactin. We usually distinguish three types of post-partum conditions: the baby blues, post partum depression and post-partum psychosis. The "baby blues" is type of adjustment reaction, where combined factors, such as social role change, lack of help and support and other stressors all seem for a moment too much to handle. New moms may be temporarily unable to sleep, rest poorly, worry and fret excessively, lack confidence and feel a bit overwhelmed. They become irritable, and easily sensitive to hurt. They may briefly feel or fear a lack of connection with their baby. Baby blues usually resolves without special treatment within a few weeks. More serious is post-partum depression, which diagnostically is very similar to major depressive disorder. Here, symptoms are stronger and last longer and may include despair, hopelessness, failure to cope, and either over or under concern for her baby's well being amidst a gradual sinking into withdrawal and incapacity. There's a far less common variation, called post-partum psychosis, which affects about one per thousand mothers. Symptoms may include agitation, confusion and hyperactivity as well as a sense of unreality, confusion, hallucinations and delusional states. We have recently seen what may be a very severe case of this in the news recently, with the tragic story of a mother admitting to drowning her children in the bathtub during a psychotic experience. How can we help these moms? Some writers have suggested that we need more effective rites of passage to help women to become mothers and men, fathers. Even though we all agree that parenthood is the single most responsible station of adulthood, as a culture, we have failed in many ways to teach prospective moms and dads about the changes that they need to understand and go through to become effective parents. Here are some ideas for helping new moms to get through the blues. * First, remember that “prevention rules”! Doctors should screen moms and dads during pregnancy for signs of stress or strain and predictors of depression, such as prior depressions. * Younger moms, especially adolescents, need the most help as they have twice the risk of PPD. * Dads can attend prenatal classes to learn about the processes of birthing and to anticipate things at the hospital. * Pregnant couples can spend some time assisting someone who has a new baby — to get a first-hand idea of what may be in store for them. * Family and friend-based support networks need to be in place before the baby comes to assure that the mother is free to care for her baby as well as herself. * Finally, loving attention, reassurance and practical help will do much to prevent or relieve the suffering caused by these post-partum blues. |
