What is postnatal depression?
Postnatal depression is very common and so are the amount of mothers who suffer in silence with this terrible illness. Many suffer alone because it is not well recognized or just classified as The baby blues.There are three classifications of depression that is experienced in the postnatal period.
- The baby blues
- Postnatal Depression
- Puerperal Psychosis
The baby blues
This is very common and classed as normal in the early postnatal stage, usually occurring 2 to 4 days after the birth. People suffer many different Symptoms and it is thought to be down to a multiple of reasons.Doctors believe it is due to changes in hormone levels and others claim it is due to the experience of being in hospital!!! Some also believe that due to the excitement of the birth, the new arrival and the constant attention of visitors an anticlimax occurs when you return home to sleepless nights and the demands of a newborn baby.
This type of depression usually clears up quickly (within a couple of weeks) and is not taken very seriously by health care professionals. However if it does get worse or goes on for longer then a health care professional should be informed as it is most likely developing into Postnatal Depression .
Symptoms of the baby blues can be similar to those seen in PND but the biggest difference is the time factor. Remember, the baby blues usually clear within a couple of weeks.
Postnatal Depression (PND)
Not everyone adapts to motherhood easily and quickly. Most women do not tell people how they are feeling especially if they are still feeling down after the baby blue period or a couple of weeks after the birth. Often women feel too ashamed to tell people that they are feeling "down" or "depressed" for the fear that society will label them. The label reading that they are unfit mothers. There is also the fear that if they do tell a health care professional how they are feeling their baby will be taken away from them which is not the case at all as this has no advantage for either the mother or the baby.So you ask, what is PND? PND is the abbreviation used for Postnatal Depression. PND is common and effects 1 in 6 mothers which is 10-15%. Most people know someone or of someone who is suffering or has suffered this illness. |t usually develops within the first month after birth but is common anytime during the first six months. However, it can develop anytime during the first year after birth.
PND can follow from The baby blues and vary from mild to the severest (but luckily the rarest) form known as Puerperal Psychosis which usually requires a hospital admission.
Symptoms of PND can be easily overlooked by the sufferer, family and friends and simply seen as normal when trying to adapt to a new baby and the role of parenthood. Yet there is a difference between occasionally feeling low and down and feeling it constantly. Depression is an illness just like chicken pox, measles or the flu. There are many treatments available depending on the mother and the Symptoms she is experiencing.
So you may be wondering what causes PND and if you read about the illness into any depth it really isn't known what causes it. Each case, like each sufferer is individual. Yet a number of factors that may contribute to PND have been suggested:
A new baby can be very stressful as they require constant care. This care is 24hours a day which means sleep is disturbed. It is thought that the stress added together with disturbed sleep may be enough to read more
