Postpartum Depression Essay examples

Postpartum depression is one of the most common complications of childbearing with an estimated prevalence of 19.2% in the first three months after delivery (1). Depressive episodes (major and mild) may be experienced by approximately half of women during the first postpartum year (1). Characterized by depressed mood, loss of pleasure or interest in daily activities, feelings of worthlessness and guilt, irritability, sleep and eating disturbances (2), its etiology is multi-faceted and complex (3;4).

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 psychiatric disorders, particularly depression, has become the most underdiagnosed complication in the United States. It can lead to increased costs of medical care, inappropriate medical care, child abuse and neglect, discontinuation of breastfeeding, and family dysfunction and adversely affects early brain development (Earls, 2010). Over 400,000 infants are born to mothers that are depressed. One of 7 new mothers (14.5%) experience depressive episodes that impair maternal role function. An episode of major or minor depression that occurs during pregnancy or the first 12 months after birth is called perinatal or postpartum depression (Wisner, Chambers & Sit, 2006). Mothers with postpartum depression experience feelings of extreme sadness, anxiety, and exhaustion that may make it difficult for them to complete daily care activities for themselves or for others (Postpartum Depression). The six stages of postpartum are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance and PTSD. These stages may affect any women regardless of age, race, ethnicity, or economic status. However only a physician can diagnose a woman with postpartum depression. It does not occur because of something a mother does or does not do, it’s a combination of physical and emotional factors. After childbirth, the levels of hormones in a woman’s body quickly drop; which may lead to chemical changes in her brain (Postpartum Depression). Unbalanced hormones may trigger mood swings.

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,

Despite the physical changes that a woman is to expect during her pregnancy, a major concern that requires attention is a period of expected feelings of depression that a woman may encounter known as baby blues. Although normal, and expected baby blues can lead into post partum depression that involves a myriad of emotions and mood swings. If not addressed postpartum depression can lead to a more severe form of baby blues known in the clinical world as postpartum non-psychotic depression that requires professional intervention. The therapeutic goal during this time is to prevent the new mother from committing suicide where she poses a danger to both herself and her newborn.

There is need for people to understand what postpartum depression is and learn how to deal efficiently and effectively with it. According to the national health science (NHS), postpartum depression is defined as a depression that normally occurs after childbirth. To help deal with this issue, a lot of investment has been made for public sensitization on how to handle the issue. However, this effort of public sensitization may yield little results because many people view this problem as a problem of others. This literature review therefore focused on trying to understand the various issues surrounding or leading to postpartum depression and the effects that it has on family experience, starting from the mother, the child, the father and the whole society in general. The study was majorly centered on trying to understand to what extent the depression either directly or indirectly affects the mother, the father and the whole society, in general. The objective of this literature review was to examine and decode a considerable number of relevant articles that had researched and arrived at conclusions that related to postpartum depression. After rigorous review of the literature, it was found out that postpartum depression had a direct effect on the family experience. The findings show how exactly postpartum depression affects the mother, the father/family, the child and the whole society in general. This

Post partum depression can begin two weeks to couple months after delivery for a woman. It is also referred to as “the baby blues,” a feeling of stress, sadness, anxiety, loneness, and tiredness following the child’s birth (American Psychological Association [APA], 2016). As critical as it could be for the mother, post partum depression has long term consequences on the development of the child. It does not only impact the mother in providing care for the newborn, it also has numerous impacts on the families, and the larger community. APA (2016) suggested that up to 1 in 7 women experiences postpartum depression and that it can affect any woman, regardless of their marital status, first-time mothers or mothers with one or more children, easy or problem pregnancies, income, age, race or ethnicity, culture or education. Its impact may affect both the child development, and the mother interaction in respect to the child development. The whole family system is affected with perinatal loss. Many children experience unresolved grief which can be seen later on in adulthood. According to the article “siblings in families bereaved as a result of perinatal loss suffer in two ways: they mourn the loss of their expected sibling and they mourn the loss of the parents as they knew prior to the loss”. The loss of a child can be so overwhelming that parents forget about their child’s grief. This type of grief is known as the incipient grief; grief that is not

Only around 15% of women receive the proper help they need. The exact numbers are unknown considering the stigma that surrounds any type of mental health issue. The majority of affected mothers don’t have the resources to obtain the proper treatment for their symptoms or for their children. Previous studies have shown that mothers with postpartum depression tend to negatively affect the development of their infant. “Children outcomes include poor cognitive functioning, as well as emotional and behavioral problems such as increased risk for externalizing disorders and future psychopathology.” (Werner, Gustafsson, Lee, Feng, Jiang, Desai, & Monk, 2015). It has been proven that postpartum depression “dysregulates maternal cognitive and affective function and in turn interferes with the mother’s ability to notice and interpret her infant’s cues accurately, contingently and sensitively.” (Horowitz, Murphy, Gregory, Wojcik, Pulcini, & Solon, 2013) causing them more frustration and preventing them from properly caring and stimulating the child. Postpartum depression is such a serious condition that not only can it cost the life of the mother but also the life of the

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).

The research problem the researchers are purposing is that there is a need to find acceptable and efficient treatments to prevent the long-term effects of postpartum depression (PPD) in mother-child interaction and the development of the child. This study is essential to nursing because it is nurses that may initially detect PPD in postpartum patients, as well, early detection is crucial to get treatment right away. The nurse can play a significant role in ensuring that his or her patient receives proper treatment.

Postnatal depression is a major health-related issue affecting from 10 to 15 % of all parents of newborns. Postnatal depression is more common among the parents with preterm and low weight babies with the rates between 14 to 27% (McDonald et al., 2013). Postnatal depression prevents successful parent-child bonding and affects healthy child development. Numerous risk factors could cause the development of postnatal depression in the parents with preterm babies, including “a history of depression, marital problems, poor social support and infant problems” (Hagan et al., 2004, p. 641).

The functional role of women with postpartum depression (in terms of personal, household and social responsibilities) is 12 times less than women without depression (Posmontier, 2008). Postnatal depression has a negative impact on mother–infant relationship, and the infants’ cognitive and emotional development (Cooper & Murray, 1998). This is due to the negative effect of PPD on the quality of parenting practices and on a mother’s ability to adequately respond to her baby. It has been suggested that postpartum depression is an independent

Maternal nature is indescribable when a woman hears a faint heartbeat for the very first time and feels the first kick that is stirring inside her growing belly. All mothers know that having a baby is full of joyful and memorable moments, it can also be quite stressful and tasking. Newly mothers who are capable on dealing with these difficulties will eventually succeed and become a super mom. However, there are some women who are struggling on how to become a perfect mother for her new bundle of joy. Mothers who are dealing with depression, anxiety, and overwhelmed with all the new responsibilities of having a newborn child are experiencing, Postpartum depression. Being a mother is known to be the happiest and most important event on a woman’s

Depression is something that 18% of women around the world experience, 19% of them within the first 3 months after giving birth. (Segre, O'Hara, Brock & Taylor, 2012) This has been a major health issue in the public health. Scientist till today are still trying to decipher how the psychological changes that occurs during the birth of a child can lead to a severe depressive state. It is found to be twice as common in women as opposed to men. (Segre, et al., 2012) Expectant mothers experience unexpected changes in so many different aspects of their lives that turns out to be such a difficult hurdle to overcome. A woman’s psychological state also gets affected when it comes to this kind of depression, especially if prior to getting pregnant, she was said to be more likely to develop a mental disorder. (Jones, Chandra, Dazzan & Howard, 2014). Depression for a woman post-partum is the longest standing symptom that comes from an imbalanced brain functioning. It is said that depression at its worst state can lead to psychosis and even pose a risk of the mother making a suicide attempt. (Khan & Sharma, 2015)

A. (2016). Postpartum depression: Etiology, treatment and consequences for maternal care. Hormones and behavior, 77, 153-166.