Postpartum Depression Critical Analysis

Often the time after birth is a filled with joy and happiness due to the arrival of a new baby. However, for some mothers the birth of a baby leads to some complicated feelings that are unexpected. Up to 85% of postpartum woman experience a mild depression called “baby blues” (Lowdermilk, Perry, Cashion, & Alden, 2012). Though baby blues is hard on these mothers, another form of depression, postpartum depression, can be even more debilitating to postpartum woman. Postpartum depression affects about 15% (Lowdermilk et al., 2012) of postpartum woman. This disorder is not only distressing to the mother but to the whole family unit. This is why it is important for the nurse to not only recognize the signs and symptoms of a mother with postpartum depression, but also hopefully provide preventative care for the benefit of everyone involved.

Postpartum depression, which is the most prevalent of all maternal depressive disorders, is said to be the hidden epidemic of the 21st century. (1) Despite its high prevalence rate of 10-15% and increased incidence, postpartum depression often goes undetected, and thus untreated. (2) Nearly 50% of postpartum depression cases are untreated. As a result, these cases are put at a high risk of being exposed to the severe and progressive nature of their depressive disorder. (3) In other words, the health conditions of untreated postpartum depression cases worsen and progress to one of their utmost stages, and they are: postpartum obsessive compulsive disorder, postpartum panic disorder, postpartum post traumatic stress, and postpartum psychosis.

The birthing process generally leaves women with overwhelming joy and happiness. However, some women do experience a period of postpartum blues lasting for a few days or at most a couple of weeks but goes away with the adjustment of having a baby (Postpartum Depression, 2013). A condition called Postpartum Depression Disorder (PPD) leaves a dark gray cloud over 10-20% of woman after birth that is recognized in individuals 3 weeks to a year after the delivery of their baby (Bobo & Yawn, 2014). PPD leaves new mothers feeling lonely, anxious, and hopeless (Bobo at el, 2014). Postpartum Depression is a cross cutting disorder that can affect any woman after the delivery of a baby regardless of race, socioeconomic status, age, or education level (Postpartum Depression, 2013). Although this disorder affects more than 10% of women the article Concise Review for Physicians and Other Clinicians: Postpartum Depression reports that less than half of women with PPD are actually diagnosed with this condition (Bobo at el, 2014). It is important that postpartum women and their support systems receive education on what PPD consist of and ways to recognize the signs and symptoms of PPD so that a diagnosis is not overlooked. Early diagnosis is important because early recognition and treatment of the disorder yields for better results when treating individuals with PPD. In this paper I will deliver information about PPD based on recent literature,

Postpartum depression (PPD) affects at least 10-20% of new mothers. However, the true incidence may be much higher due to the fact that screening is not considered to be a standard practice, leaving PPD undetected and untreated in many women (Schaar & Hall, 2014). Postpartum depression not only negatively affects the mother; it also has a negative impact on the infant. For this reason, it is important for the health care providers caring for pregnant and postpartum mothers to screen them for risk factors associated with PPD, as well as educate them on ways to lessen their chances of getting PPD. It is also important for the health care providers to screen for PPD with a standardized tool like the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and to take action in treating it when it is suspected or diagnosed.

Society must realize postpartum depression is treatable and manageable. Depression of any kind is a serious illness that requires not only further study, but a shift in thinking so it is less misunderstood and more widely recognized. Early identification of PPD symptoms must be increased in order to alleviate the tremendous burden this illness causes on families and new mothers and while current diagnosis practices are expanding to include earlier identification and increasing successful treatment, it is critical that the medical community work together to expand and add to the prevention of postpartum depression. In conjunction with a greater tolerance and understanding of this mostly hidden disease, perhaps depression will no longer be such a hidden and misunderstood mental

Postpartum Depression is important because too often it affects the mother, her spouse, and the newborn child. This affects the relationship between the mother and child based on Erikson’s Psychosocial developmental Theory and the idea of trust vs. mistrust. If the child’s basic needs are not met that could lead to mistrust, anxiety, and insecurities. This could also lead to Reactive Attention Disorder, where the neglect a child experiences leads to difficulty making relationships. It’s also found to be more likely in mothers of colicky babies because if the child cries a lot the mothers are less likely to make an emotional connection.

Postpartum depression interferes with the care a mother is able to provide to her infant and can occur right after birth or up to several months later. The exact cause of postpartum depression (PPD) is not known but research has thought it can be related to changes in hormone levels and changes in lifestyle. Most women do experience the “baby blues” and feel anxious, tearful and irritated in the first weeks after delivery. These feelings however usually go away. Postpartum

The late onset of postpartum depression is a most severe case that lead to impaired the maternal function and can be life- threatening. The symptoms begin to peak at 2 to 6 months after the delivery which involve feeling of sadness, depression, lack of energy, chronic fatigue, inability to sleep and difficult caring for the baby. Many of the mother’s will delay treatment or seek for some counseling because they are afraid that they will be judge as a bad mother for not being able to take care of the baby. “As many as 14.5% of postpartum women may experience a new episode within 3 months after delievery”( Conside). Is important to be aware of the symptoms to be able to identify them and provide treatment. In most cases the women may present with mild symptoms but 10 to 15 % will

In the United States, women after childbirth will typically have one postpartum visit with their obstetrician at six weeks while new mothers will see the baby’s pediatrician at least 4-6 times during the first year at the well baby visits. These are good opportunities for the detection of PPD. Mothers may be reluctant to share their feeling with family members or the medical providers secondary to fears of being seen as a “bad” mother, or being labeled as having a psychiatric problem. Pediatricians have a unique potential to intervene (Horwitz et al., 2007).

However Postpartum Depression is much more severe. Some mother. may have suicidal thoughts, and most feel completely inadequate of taking care of their newborns.“approximately 10 to 15% of women suffer from postpartum disorder including Postpartum depression” Postpartum progress says, “So let’s split the difference between the high (20%) and low estimates of PPD (11%) and say that an average of 15% of all postpartum women in the US suffer, as the CDC reported in its 2008 PRAMS research.”(Katherine Stone, 2010) The percentage given for women with PPD is rather low, but these are only the mothers that have been screened for PPD. Imagine how many women are not being screened for PPD, or don’t know they have PPD. The government should be working on ways that the medical community can reach out to women with PPD, actually taking notice of the real number of women in the US with PPD, which is unlikely to be 15%. This leaving a lot of women not knowing what PPD is, or if they are going through

Postpartum depression (PPD) is one type of mood disorders seen in the postpartum period. Other types include postpartum blues and postpartum psychosis. While postpartum blues is common (15-85%) and usually does not require treatment, postpartum psychosis is much rarer (1%). Often postpartum blues is a risk factor for later development of PPD. Incidence of PPD falls between the other two affecting about 15% of new mothers.

This proposal will outline the plan for research of postpartum depression in new mothers, its complications, current treatments, and new treatments. Postpartum depression is a mood disorder that occurs in women within the first 12 months after giving birth. In the past many women confused “baby blues” which consists of mood swings, frequent crying spells, irritability, anger, loss of sleep, and loss of appetite with postpartum depression. The major difference between the two is the duration of time and severity of symptoms. Baby blues last for at least two weeks after birth while postpartum lasts for several weeks with much severe symptoms. More women are being diagnosed with postpartum each year than any other major disease. The only treatment

Thurgood, Avery and Williamson published an article in the American Journal of Clinical Medicine (2009). According to their review, they found that many cases of PPD may remain undiagnosed due to constraints such as time and concerns about the social acceptability of screening. But the majority of undiagnosed cases are probably due to the social stigma of being labelled an “unhappy mother”, (Kabir et al., 2008) not to mention the public image of PPD. Upon formal screening, many women scoring in a depressive range fully admit to being depressed, understanding that their symptoms are neither minor nor transient. But they reject the term “postpartum depression” because this implies to them that their feelings are caused by their babies (Lumley,

Mothers who have brought into this world a blessing have been preparing themselves for a big change in their life. They have been learning and educating themselves about how to be a good mother. Many mothers find it really hard to transition from being an independent woman without children to becoming a mother (Corrigan, Kwasky, & Groh, 2015). Adapting to motherhood can be a drastic change, and usually creates challenges that lead to feeling overwhelmed (Leger & Letourneau, 2015). When a newly mother begins experiencing stress or becomes emotional then there can be a possibility that they can encounter Postpartum Depression (Leger et al., 2015). Postpartum depression can be seen and experienced in many different ways, it all varies on every mother (Corrigan et al., 2015). Many different mental health issues can be seen including baby blues, postpartum depression, postpartum obsessive-compulsive disorder, and the most serious, postpartum psychosis (Tam & Leslie, 2001).

To validate this study the use of an Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), with women scoring 12 or higher indicated probable PPD. The study was accurate and complete as independent coders analyzed the interviews while the review team discussed