The most difficult period in a woman’s life is pregnancy and later. During this process, hormones, tissues, and organs change. Prenatal women are less productive than before pregnancy. They have difficulty fulfilling their responsibilities. They cannot get enough support from their families. All of these affect their psychology and cause depression. In fact, there is no separate type of depression called postpartum depression. It arises due to difficulties experienced after birth. Sensitive women are more susceptible to this disease. So what is postpartum depression?
What is postpartum depression?
Symptoms
Postpartum mental fluctuation is observed in 85 per cent of women who give birth. Usually, there is no need for treatment and it resolves within two weeks without treatment. If these symptoms last longer than two weeks, it is called postpartum depression. However, depression table may be experienced one year after birth. Those are the general symptoms:
-Unhappiness
-Stagnation
-Unwillingness
– Inability to enjoy life
-Energy loss
-Sleeping disorder
-Lack of appetite or overeating
-Crying crises
-Unrest
– Not enjoying activities previously enjoyed
-Guilt thoughts
– Lack of interest in the baby.
-Severe anxiety and panic attacks
-Irritability and anger
-Thoughts of harming their baby or someone else.
When is physician support required?
The most frequently used scale in this area is the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale. The mental depressive state may not be defined by the mother after birth. So, when there is a mental fluctuation, relatives of the mother should consult a psychiatrist. One should not waste time when more serious symptoms of postpartum depression are seen. Otherwise, cases such as suicide harming the baby or not eating may occur.
Postpartum depression treatment
After the examination, the psychiatrist should evaluate the baby’s condition and the mother together. If the mother can cope with this problem, there is no need for medical support. However, the mother’s condition is monitored. Treatment is applied when it is determined that the mother has worsened by examination. If the treatment is insufficient, the mother’s illness will progress. As a result, increasingly higher doses of medication are given. Maybe it may be necessary to hospitalize the mother.
What is postpartum depression?
Who is at risk?
We can list the risk groups as follows:
- Women with depressive complaints in their life history,
- Those who experience a decrease in physical and mental endurance due to their illness,
- Mothers who do not get enough social support from their family,
- Those who have various difficulties in the postpartum period,
- Mothers experiencing economic problems.
What is postpartum depression?
Mental Difficulties
The mother’s mental and physical difficulties during this period can be overlooked for many reasons. There are many reasons for this problem. For example cultural reasons, family, and economic difficulties. During this period, serious mental disturbances in the mother can easily be overlooked or ignored. Therefore, all members of the family should observe the mental state of the mother.
In addition, good communication with the doctor and strict follow-up are very important. The development of the baby and the communication with the mother should be monitored. These give important clues to physicians about postpartum depression.
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