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Postpartum Depression (PPD)

What is it?

Most of the time, people think that having a baby is the happiest time in a mother's life, when in reality it could be one of the hardest. Approximately 10-15% of women suffer from PPD within the first year of the child’s life. Some moms go through what is called “the baby blues” and it only lasts a little while whereas PPD can last months. Both moms and dads can suffer from PPD, but it’s more common in mothers.

Symptoms

Some symptoms are very similar to those of regular depression, but here are the main symptoms for Postpartum Depression:
The new mom can feel very overwhelmed and anxious, thinking that they aren’t able to care for this new baby.
She may feel sad, empty, alone, and afraid of what will happen and that she should be a better mom.
They think that the baby could potentially be better off without them.
Uncontrolled crying
Thoughts of hurting yourself or your baby
Thoughts of death and suicide

Here are the symptoms of the baby blues:
Mood swings including irritability, anxiety, and crying
Appetite problems and trouble sleeping.

Causes

There are two factors that can cause postpartum depression. There are both physical and emotional changes.

After you deliver your baby, there’s a sudden drop in both estrogen and progesterone within your body. This has a huge part in the physical factors of PPD. It can leave you feeling sluggish and tired.

When you’re near the end of your pregnancy, you start to become sleep deprived. You’re up all hours of the night with sadness, crying, anxiety and even just listening to the baby cry. These are emotional changes that you may have from childbirth.

Risk Factors

Some risk factors are:
Mental health disorders
Poor support of financial situation
Relationship with partner/family
Not being able to work/fear of losing your job
Postpartum depression after a previous pregnancy
Not being able to breastfeed your baby and feeling like you’re letting them down.


What to do

As with many other mental illnesses, the common support is cognitive-behavioural therapy, also known as CBT. Cognitive-behavioural therapy teaches you the way that your behaviour, feelings, and thoughts work together. You could also join a support group that would introduce you to other moms who are going through the same situation. Mother’s can also go on antidepressants, as long as it’s been discussed with a doctor. Most antidepressants are safe to use while a mom is breastfeeding.Lastly, the most important thing that you can do is to surround yourself with the ones you love. Make sure that you take time for yourself, if you have to ask a family member to come watch your newborn for a bit while you go take a bath or sleep, don’t feel ashamed.