Postpartum depression: Know the signs, causes, ways to deal and more

We spoke to Dr. Shradha Shejekar, Visiting Psychiatrist, Altius Hospital, Bangalore, about how most new mothers experience postpartum and how once can deal with  

Mental health during and after pregnancy is often neglected as the focus is mainly on the newborn or the society wants the women to believe that motherhood is only ‘beautiful’, which makes the mother feel guilty to even acknowledge her emotional difficulties endured during the period by her due to fear of being judged by the society and feeling ‘incapable’ of being a good mother. 

Around 20-25% of new mothers are suffering from postpartum depression in India, and the numbers have grown during the COVID pandemic. Postpartum depression usually presents around a month post-childbirth which can last up to a year if not treated, which poses difficulty for the mother, baby and the family.

Causes:

• Prior history of depression, bipolar affective disorder or other mental health issues
• Drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes or using other substances
• Thyroid disorder
• Family history of psychiatric illness, especially postpartum psychiatric issues
• Ongoing hormonal treatment, steroid medications etc
• Complications in the pregnancy like diabetes, pre-eclampsia etc.
• Sleep disturbance
• Stress-related to work/ personal life
• Lack of support, financial issues
• Spontaneous

 Signs and Symptoms:

• Sad/ anxious mood
• Recurrent guilt feeling
• Feeling that she is not worthy of being a mother
• Repeated worry if she will be able to look after the child
• Constant worry about her future, career and feeling hopeless
• Suicidal ideas
• Insomnia/ excessive sleep
• Experiencing loss of appetite, weight loss or weight gain
• Body image issues
• Disinterest in socializing
• lack of self/baby care and hygiene
• Difficulty to emotionally accept the child/ thoughts of harming the baby

 Ways to deal:

• Be aware of the symptoms to identify them at the earliest, rather than being in denial.
•  Express your emotional disturbance to the gynaecologist during a checkup at least
• ask for help to look after the baby, divide the workload
• spend ‘me’ time at least an hour daily
• Sleep is necessary for at least 6-8 hours a day
• if time permits, go for a walk, listen to energizing, happy music
• Yoga and meditation
• Vent out your feelings with your support system
• Try to read motivational stories in the beginning of the day at least for 10 minutes
• The family needs to be vigilant about the mental health of the mother and bring them to psychiatrist a without delay
• if prescribed any medication by the psychiatrist, complete the course as advised and follow up regularly