Postpartum Depression: Causes, Warning Signs and When to Seek Help
As a young lady in my early twenties, I have all those dreams of having a good family in future and that includes me being a mother. However, as a firstborn daughter, I got to witness the birth of my other siblings and with the birth of each one of them, I saw how different the experience was for my mother. All this different experiences gave me an urge to research more about pregnancy, birth and generally motherhood. It was in one of my researches that I got to learn about Postpartum Depression. In this blog, we will look into the following:
Definition of Postpartum Depression (PPD)
A brief real life story of a woman who has experienced Postpartum Depression
The common signs and symptoms of PPD
People who are most likely to suffer from PPD
Help and medication
Postpartum Depression is a medical condition that can be well described as change in mood of a woman after giving birth. As many women would really love the magic that comes with motherhood, some women struggle with being anxious, sad, and worthless and suddenly feel they are unable to take care of their new born baby or just are not doing enough to protect their baby.
Auburn Harrison is a woman I saw her story on YouTube about battling with Postpartum Depression. Here is her story:
Auburn Harrison welcomed her third bouncing baby boy with joy. She said she felt she was very ready to take care of this child just as she had taken care of the other two sons. But, with this third child, she started to feel incredibly anxious and paranoid. Then came a flood of negative emotions. The lady could feel drained and sometimes could not even sleep. This worsened the situation. She had this feeling it was PPD and as anyone else who has relied on doctor Google, would seek for medical review. Auburn sort help from a doctor who misdiagnosed her with some other heart condition, which later from the tests done it was proven her heart was just fine and so the doctor suggested she should just try to get more sleep.
This was the beginning of even worse symptoms. Ms. Harrison started to have hallucinations that something horrid was happening to her children and it got to a point where she had this voice inside her pushing her to just hurt her sons. She decides to go to the hospital again and this time, luckily finds this doctor who takes the time to sit and listen to her (bless the doctor) and finally, from the symptoms, Harrison says the doctor diagnoses her with PPD.
The doctor recommended medication that included therapy. And what a good way to end Harrison story than she is recovering well. Not fully healed, but she is heading there.
Symptoms of Postpartum Depression
This are some of the symptoms of PPD:
Feeling sad, anxious or overwhelmed
Crying for no apparent reason
Feeling unable to take care of the baby
Withdrawing from family and friends
Feeling irritable or moody
People at high risk to get Postpartum Depression
According to the research I have done;
People with bipolar history
People who don’t have support from family and friends
People depressed during pregnancy
Unwanted pregnancy or unplanned pregnancy
People having difficulty breast feeding and
recently researchers have also added people with asthma to this list don’t know however how true this is.
Postpartum depression is treatable
Therapy sessions and medication can really be effective
When it comes to mental and mood disorders, though one has to visit the doctor and tell them exactly how they feel, one should not be embarrassed because trust me you are not alone. It’s only through honest discussion with your doctor is when you are going to get the correct help.
Taking care of a baby is such hard work. If as a firstborn taking care of my siblings has not been a walk in the park then I would imagine being their mother.
With all the hormonal changes and varying sleeping patterns, finding time for yourself maybe hard, and that is why is okay to ask for help from family or friends. This does not mean that you have failed as a mother. As a matter of fact, it will help you to be at a better place to take care of yourself so as to shower your baby with lots of care and love.
If you are dealing with postpartum depression, please seek medical attention. Or if you know someone who has postpartum depression, help them by recommending a visit to the hospital. To all of us around mothers, let’s be supportive and helpful.
Remember there is no such thing as small act of kindness. It will all be remembered by one you helped!
Take a look at our POSTPARTUM MEAL PLAN
