Postpartum depression: Causes, signs and prevention

Postpartum depression is a common psychological problem in postpartum women. The disease needs timely treatment to avoid unfortunate consequences for both mother and baby.

About 50% of women experience mild depression for a few days after having a baby. You may not know, but this is completely normal. Your body goes through nine months of physical and emotional changes as well as the stresses of taking care of a newborn baby. It is important to remember not to let this emotion drive you because otherwise, you could have a more serious condition called postpartum depression. What you need to do is take a deep breath and look for ways to manage your depression.

What is postpartum depression?

Postpartum depression is a common psychological problem in women after having a baby. While having a baby can bring a mother joy, happiness, and fear and anxiety, it can also cause negative effects like depression. Feeling sad is common postpartum because hormonal changes in your body can affect your mood. These changes usually last about 2 weeks. When symptoms do not improve but worsen after 2 weeks, this is when depression develops and can become severe. If this happens to you or someone you know, tell them to see a doctor right away. If this condition is not treated in time, it can affect the health of you and your baby.

What causes postpartum depression?

It is still not clear what causes postpartum depression. Some of the potential risk factors, however, are hormonal changes, genetics, and major life events. There is a lot of evidence that hormones like estrogen, progesterone, thyroid hormone, testosterone, CRH, and cortisol may play a role in causing this depression. In addition, it can also be caused by a change in lifestyle due to having to care for the baby. However, all are hypothesized and currently no one has proven the exact cause of depression after giving birth.

What are the common signs of postpartum depression?

There are 3 levels of postpartum symptoms including baby blues, postpartum depression and psychosis. Similar to other depression, postpartum depression has many symptoms, including:

Baby blues

This is the mildest degree of postpartum depression. Signs and symptoms of baby blues lasting only a few days to 1 or 2 weeks after birth include:

Mood swings

Concerned

Sad

Uncomfortable

Feeling dizzy

Cry

Decreased focus

The problem of taste

Difficulty sleeping.

Postpartum depression

If baby blues isn't well treated, it can progress to postpartum depression. Signs and symptoms of the disease are similar to baby blues syndrome, but are more severe and lasting, even affecting your ability to take care of your baby and handle daily tasks. Symptoms can develop within the first few weeks of life and last up to 6 months:

Severe depression or lightheadedness

Difficult to connect with your child

Separate from family and friends

Loss of appetite and eating disorders

Difficulty sleeping

Cry a lot

Excessive fatigue or loss of energy

Reduce your interest and interest in activities that you used to enjoy

Uneasy and excessive anger

Reduced ability to think, focus or make decisions

Severe anxiety and often fear

Hurt yourself or your baby

Find a way to commit suicide.

Postpartum psychosis

The final stage of postpartum depression is psychosis, which includes more severe and lasting signs and symptoms:

Confusion and disorientation

Obsessive thoughts about having a baby

Hallucinations and delusions

Sleep disorders

Personality disorder

Hurt yourself or your baby.

Postpartum psychosis can cause you to have threatening thoughts and life threatening behavior and need immediate treatment.

Depression during pregnancy can lead to depression after giving birth

If you suffer from depression while you are pregnant, you will have problems taking care of yourself. Depression during pregnancy can lead to the following risks:

Miscarriage

Preterm birth

Have  a low birth weight baby .

Depression during pregnancy, if left untreated, will lead to postpartum depression.

How to prevent postpartum depression?

One study found that if women receive psychosocial and psychological support, they are less likely to develop this syndrome. This shows that support and care play a very important role in prevention, because mothers who have experienced it all describe their feelings at that time as "alone", "not at all. who supports, cares ”.

Also one of the important parts of prevention is knowing what risk factors you can avoid. After giving birth, women should also see a doctor for timely treatment if sick. At the same time, adequate exercise and eating also play an important role in preventing postpartum depression in particular and improving mood in general.

How to treat postpartum depression?

There are many treatment options available for this condition, sometimes it is possible to combine more than one method at the same time. If it is possible to pinpoint the cause of your postpartum depression, treatment will focus on addressing it. Here are 2 popular methods of treatment:

1. Non-drug therapy

By intervening psychologically and psychologically as mentioned in the article, many women have been cured of depression after giving birth. Other types of treatment, such as group therapy or visiting relatives, also help. In addition, people also use acupuncture, massage, light therapy or use omega-3 fatty acids ... but the effect is still unclear.

2. Drug therapy

Several medications have been used to treat postpartum depression such as selective serotonin re-transport inhibitors (SSRIs), antidepressants. However, their effectiveness has not been determined.

How to control postpartum depression?

There are four simple ways you can reduce your postpartum depression:

1. Avoid scary things

Women with postpartum depression are often very sensitive. It is easy to think that everything you see is directly related to you. So you may not be able to control yourself and get stuck in your imagination.

Therefore, presenting positive images as much as possible will help keep your mind out of negative thoughts. Of course, you should avoid horror movies, scary books, detective stories and not read too much news, especially complicated ones.

2. Don't rely too much on the web

The information on the web has a direct impact on your mind. Remember that some forums for moms are not endorsed for content. All members can share their situation, their experiences, their advice, but an important note is that they don't understand your situation clearly, so they can't give you the best solutions. Lots of treatments and results are mentioned, some people can get rid of depression with these tips, but some can't. Getting too much information and worrying about the results can make you obsess and more tired.

3. Don't put too much pressure on your life

Health and work, what do you choose? Is it necessary to complete all of this in a while? If you are tired and want to get some sleep, you can put off chores. Don't put too much pressure on yourself.

4. Stay away from people who don't support you

Not everyone will support you and your situation. Instead of spending time dipping into grievances, spend more time with supportive supporters by your side and listening to you. Besides, you can find mothers who can sympathize with you, or have experienced postpartum depression so can share with you whatever you need.

When should you see a doctor?

If you experience symptoms and signs of depression that last more than 2 weeks after giving birth or appear within 2 months of giving birth, see your doctor. If your symptoms and signs include the following, you should call your doctor right away:

Condition did not improve after 2 weeks

Symptoms worsened

It is difficult to take care of the child

It is difficult to complete daily tasks

Have thoughts of hurting yourself or your kids

Intent to commit suicide.

If you intend to hurt yourself or your baby, you need to seek the support of your husband or those around you in taking care of your child and seek the help of a doctor immediately.