Postpartum depression: how to deal with it

After giving birth, a woman should expect frequent and unexpected mood swings, but how do you distinguish “normal” bad mood from postpartum depression? If the psychological changes in the character of the newly-born mommy hardly fit into the norm, there may be several reasons for this: chronic lack of sleep (which has a huge effect on mood and attitude towards others), physical illness or illness, increased anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and postpartum psychosis.

Doctors estimate that five to seven out of ten women suffer from postpartum depression. Typically, postpartum depression is a mild and temporary behavioral disorder that occurs on the third or fourth day after childbirth and reaches its climax on the fourth or fifth day. The most common symptom of postpartum depression is crying for no reason. Also, sudden surges of energy and love for neighbors are not excluded, which are replaced by blues and despair. Other symptoms are mild irritability, anger and hostility, persistent headaches, feelings of unreality, exhaustion and devastation, and unrelenting anxiety. Sleep disorders are also included in the list of symptoms – these are indispensable companions of a woman in subsequent depression.

Light postpartum depression usually goes away without any intervention and without a trace after two weeks; if symptoms persist after this period, the diagnosis should be revised. Help from loved ones, such as helping with caring for a baby, can help a young mother get enough sleep, while help with household chores or advice on caring for a baby can help keep her spirited up. In women who have once experienced postpartum depression, this situation will most often recur in subsequent pregnancies.

If symptoms of mild depression persist for more than two wear, the disease becomes severe. What if a woman completely loses control of herself? Then we are dealing with “postpartum psychosis.” This is a rare complication of postpartum depression and affects one to two out of every hundred women who experience PDD. It is possible that postpartum psychosis is associated with bipolar affective disorder (ie, manic-depressive psychosis); it often occurs in women with schizophrenia or a mental disorder that was not diagnosed before delivery. The first symptoms (persecution mania, severe depression or schizophrenic manifestations) of postpartum psychosis appear two weeks after childbirth. In addition to all the symptoms of PDD, patients with postpartum psychosis also have delusions and hallucinations about the child. Often, at the same time, the mother feels fear for the child and believes that he is constantly in mortal danger.

Postpartum depression treatment

Treatment for postpartum depression begins with … getting the correct diagnosis; in some cases, the mere definition of a “disorder” manifested by such symptoms can improve the woman’s well-being and calm her down a little. Treatment for postpartum depression should be both medical and psychological. Physical illness (such as pituitary or thyroid disease) should be considered before diagnosing PDD. The most severe and most difficult to treat symptom of PRD is sleep disorders.

Once CRP is diagnosed, group therapy can be very effective. Learning to care for a baby, support and attention from loved ones and friends, and advice on how to feed a baby are also helpful. Drug treatment that does not require stopping breastfeeding is extremely effective. Despite the fact that antidepressants do pass into breast milk, there is no evidence that they are harmful to the health and well-being of the baby (however, taking antidepressants should be discussed with a doctor).

Tips for dealing with postpartum depression:

• See your doctor immediately as soon as you notice the first symptoms of PRD. The doctor will help you draw up a treatment program for the disease. Follow it!
• Talk to your doctor regularly. Tell your doctor about any new symptoms or side effects of your medications.
• Try to deal with stress. Many of the symptoms of PDD, as well as the manifestations of motherhood, are unpredictable and emotionally debilitating. We are programmed to give all the energy and attention to the child – do not forget that the child first of all needs a healthy and loving mother.
• Ask the child’s father and loved ones to help you care for the child. Separate responsibilities.
• Don’t be ashamed to ask for help if you need it. This is by no means an admission of weakness. It only says that you are human, and nothing human …
• Housework can wait; your main responsibility is to get enough sleep.
• Every woman who has already given birth or is just preparing for it should know about the existence of PDD, its symptoms and treatment. The key is to know that postpartum depression is curable.