Postpartum depression after delivery-Is it mortal?
1. What is Postpartum Depression after Delivery?
Postpartum Depression after delivery is a negative change in our mental status after the delivery of our baby. Our body is going through too many hormonal changes during the 9 months of pregnancy. Despite, hormonal changes we suffer from many other types of changes such as joints & muscle’s movements and phenomenal change in our body shape.
Human brain is very powerful at some point as it helps us with multitasking, critical thinking, problem solving, thinking of hundreds of task’s performance in some seconds. As all these remarkable changes occur within those 9 months, our brain needs sufficient time to adjust itself according to the environment and those not only uncomfortable but painful process due to this situation and circumstances.
Nowadays this is quite well-known among us, compared to 15 or 20 years ago. On those times depending on the cultures, people were not aware of the existence of such an illness. Still, there are chances some new parents are not aware of this and looking for some information online. Thus, let’s see answers to some common questions asked by women suffering from Postpartum Depression after Delivery.
2. Why Women suffer from Postpartum Depression after Delivery?
- Discomforts affects the brain:
Processing or feeding too many negative and unwanted thoughts in to our brain due to the discomfort of the body.
Such us:
- My body shape is changed so drastically that I don’t even recognize myself anymore. I hate seeing myself in the mirror for the fact that how fat and ugly I look now.
- My dresses do not fit at all anymore. What should I wear? When will I find time to go for shopping? Who’s going to watch the baby and the list goes on and on…
- I will not be a good wife / partner to my husband anymore. We will not be able to love each other the way we used to before.
- I will not be a good mother to my children OR I will not be worthy of being a good mother to my children.
- My husband will be better off without me along with my children.
- I will end my life because things will not work out the way I had seen it and imagined it.
- The milk flow is not very good.
- You’re staying awake long hours during the nights with the baby. You’re lacking sleep and can’t sleep during day time due to taking care of all household chores.
- You’re not receiving help from anyone if you are living alone in a country where you know only a few people.
- You’re having so much pain and taking medication and you are worried that the medication slows down the milk flow.
- Lack of sleep, fatigue, or hormonal changes:
It could also happen due to lack of sleep because we spend the nights awake with the baby. Fatigue or exhaustion also are factors of depression and of course hormonal changes are one of them. Once the baby is out of mother’s body, it leaves some hormones behind which are also called anti bodies. It takes more time until our body adjusts itself with the new hormones of after the baby is born.
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3. What are the signs or symptoms of Postpartum Depression after Delivery?
- Crying without any reason
- Fighting for no reason
- Loss of interest in relation with your husband
- No desire for any social events
- Either too much sleeping OR not falling asleep at all
- Over eating OR decrease in appetite
- Eating too many sweets
- No bond with the baby OR no interest for the baby
- Feeling as if this is the end of the world for you
- No motivation in living OR life
- Being emotional all the time, even during watching movies it might happen with you that you cry.
- Can’t enjoy activities which used to be enjoyable before
- Forgetting things OR lack of concentration
- Feeling that your brain hurts
- Extremely low self value OR self-esteem
- Thinking of ending your life OR harming the baby
- No desire in self care OR self-love
- Remaining alone and withdrawing yourself from relatives or other social events.
- Not being able to talk with anyone. The moment you want to start talking, you start crying instead.
- Denial of your pregnancy, delivery OR the baby
4. Is Postpartum Depression after Delivery a mortal illness?
Postpartum Depression after Delivery is the status of our mental health. The chances of mortality depend on the severity of the Postpartum Depression after delivery. It varies from one woman to other. In some women it can be mild but in some women it could result in loosing their life, if not taken care right on the moment. That is why it is extremely important to seek for help.
I have come up to a very interesting Video from Camille Mehta on TEDx talk (You tube) to show you. You will listen in her story too, that a woman ended her life, unfortunately. Chances are that there might have been more suicide cases in the past, in my point of view as people were not well aware about this fact. Depending on the culture, it might have probably been considered as a shame or sensitive thing to talk over.
The more science and human knowledge is advanced, the better people are aware. As more and more awareness were raised in this subject. Hence, there is hope as well as cure for this mental state.
5. As a mother what should we do in case we suffer from Postpartum Depression after Delivery?
- As a mother, it is our responsibility to first take care of ourselves and our babies. This is not going to be easy but we have to do it. The life of our children depend on us. Our family depend on us. At that situation we may not seem like loving ourselves but there are others who love us dearly and due to the depression we can’t just notice or feel it.
- For YOU, you may not mean anything BUT DO KNOW that for some family or loved ones YOU are their entire life.
- We should not hesitate to talk to someone. Doesn’t matter if you can’t stop crying. Not a problem of you start yelling or screaming. Don’t worry about what other person will think of you. Just let it out! Start talking!
- Prioritizing our own selves and our babies.
- Reaching for help within the rest of family or community.
- Do not refuse to go see a doctor who will refer you to the specialist.
6. How to get relieved from the inner pain and suffering from Postpartum Depression after Delivery?
Sharing your feelings and emotions with your partner will help. Sometimes talking about it will relieve you. Set down with your partner and share your feelings. By sharing your feelings, you will feel a sense of aliveness from that pain. If you keep it with yourself only, it will hurt and damage you from the inside. The consequence will be no one will know what you are going through and you will be judged falsely by your family members and others who don’t know.
7. What are the effects of Postpartum Depression after Delivery on our self-esteem?
- It has a very huge effect our self-esteem because we keep thinking of not being worthy of the baby, the husband, children or any other negative thoughts.
- We keep thinking that we are not able to do enough to merit the motherhood.
- We are not very confident whether we are right or wrong as the life of a new young human being depend on us.
- Feeling of not having the beautiful slim looking body anymore.
- Comparison of our activeness and ability to do more things before than after delivery.
- Comparing our brain sharpness and multitasking before and after delivery. There might be more depending on the severity of the PPD after delivery and also depending on the women and as well as situation. Every family situation is different and every marriage is different.
8. What are the negative effects of Postpartum Depression after Delivery on the baby or our other children?
- Logically thinking, of course an ill person would not be able to take care of a new young human being as a normal person do. Therefore, we could say it with confidence that it does have effects on the baby. In order to be able to take care of the baby or the family, we should first be ready to take care of our own selves. Again it depend on how sever the PPD is.
- The older children are remarking you and your behaviors. They can right away notice you crying. No matter how much you try to hide from them. That’s why it has a huge negative effect on the older children too.
9. What are the negative effects of Postpartum after Delivery on our Marriage relationship?
- Effects:
- Arguing / fighting for no reason
- Crying without any reason
- Decrease in the desire of being together
- Miss judging each other if not aware of the root cause
- Bad ambiance in the family
- How to fix it:
- Our marriage relationship is always strong and unbreakable. In order to keep it that way we always need to talk things through. We need to communicate. Sometimes seeing a doctor who could refer us to a councilor or Therapist or Psychologist could help and make a huge difference. During that situation, you should both be together to listen to what they say and work it out as a good team and partner.
- It is important that as a couple we be always present and welling to listen to each other’s problems, worrisome, obstacles, willingness to offer help to each other in any difficult situation.
- Being present, mindful, conscious and ready to help and support each other.
10. What are the services you could get during Postpartum Depression after Delivery?
- There are also some resources who provides speech therapy and any other necessary help and support.
- Online (chatting, talking)
- Workshops
- Support groups
- Counseling
- Online learning
- Email Updates
- Events
- Hospital support
- Education and help for new parents after birth: Robyn connects aspiring, expecting and new parents to parental wellness providers, resources, and classes on their landmark childbirth education class, parent birth .
Save your Spot now!
11. Who to consult if you are suffering from Postpartum Depression after Delivery?
- Pharmacist
- Doctor
- Therapist
- Counsellor
- Psychiatrist
- Marriage councilor or adviser
12. Whom to ask for support if you have Postpartum Depression after Delivery?
- Community center
- Close family support
- Online (Google search) Websites which offer help or Counseling are:
- 1.800.944.4773 helpline for Canada international PPD
- www.beeterhelp.com
- www.maternalmentalhealthnow.org
- Postpartum.net
- Amie Quebec
- Postpartum depression
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Thanks for this indepth review on Postpartum Depression after delivery. This article is of great value as it educates, informs and also create awareness on the existence of postpartum depression after delivery and the chance of this mental condition leading to mortality. I have had a great learning and eye opening experience from reading this article.
Thank you very much for your comment. I appreciate your time in reading the article and leaving a comment.
I am glad you liked it and that you found it informative and educative.
My purpose behind writing this post is to help our new parents to resolve any problems they may possibly face due to Postpartum Depression after Delivery.
The other main reason why I wrote it is that in some cases it could be mortal too. God forbids! It never happens to anyone. Knowing is a good thing for the preventions against it.
Wether you are a new parent or not, it is okay because one day we all will be in that parenting journey.
Hope you have a great journey a head!
This is a great article on postpartum depression, it is good that you have brought it to peoples attention. Many women suffer from this in varying degrees after giving birth. They feel so over whelmed that they cannot cope with all of the changes that have taken place.You have given the best possible advice which is to seek help from a medical professional. The more people that read this the better educated they will become.
Hi Lisa,
Thank you very much for your time in reading the post and submitting a comment. I appreciate that.
That is right, I completely agree with you. In some situations like this in life, we really need to seek help and it is important to have a person or professional to talk to. I agree with your thoughts and appreciate that.
Thanks for writing such an informative article about postpartum depression. I know about this mental health situation since my cousin experience it. Her husband feels very confused to the sudden change or my cousin after giving birth. She has been ‘on the rampage’ for several weeks. When we realized it’s called postpartum depression, we work together with both sides of the family to raise her self-esteem. I’m glad it’s something that occurred commonly nowadays and not being perceived as an incurable mental disease.
You’re most welcome! I am glad you found it informative. I am so sorry to hear about your cousin. I hope and pray that she is well and healthy in whichever corner of the world she is now. Thank you very much for sharing your experience. I am sure it will add up to more information to all of us.
We are very fortunate about all the resources which exists and that offer services. It is up to us to use it in need. True, fortunately there is cure for this mental disease.
Postpartum depression was something I didn’t understand before having my first baby but now that I’ve had 3 I can not only sympathize with those women (having I gone through an experience myself) but I also am learning about better way to handle it. Your post is worth sharing and I must thank you for the excellent job you have done here getting this message out.
Oh my God!! Thank you so so much! I really appreciate your comment and your time in reading it and offering a kind and honest comment. You’re most welcome! It is a great pleasure for me to have been able to help someone.
I thank you also for sharing it and I also thank you for kindness to taking action for what you observe. That shows your courage and your honesty to me.
The purpose in which I wrote this article was to be able to help all those who might have been in need and faced this situation or is facing this situation. We are really fortunate that through our research, we are able to introduce very good resources from which people could really benefit.
I thank you once again and I wish you a lovely time!
What a great article Meena! I’d love to have read it three years ago with the birth of my third child. I had postpartum depression just with him and it was an awful experience. Feeling so unhappy and confused, in a moment that should be the best one, feels just horrible. Fortunately, it was my mother who told me what was happening to me. Because although I knew a little about postpartum depression I never thought it could happen to me that I love motherhood more than ever in life. Thanks again for such an interesting article! I’ll recommend it to a couple of pregnant friends in case they need it!!
Thank you very much for your time in reading the article and offering a comment. I really appreciate that. I am glad you found it useful. Yeah, I wish as well to have found this path where I am right now to help more people in solving their problems. Such as this one, it is a very common one among women now a days. Thanks to the resources who are welling and ready to help.
All the best!
I almost pack out of our house shortly after my wife gave birth to our first son. The nagging, the unnecessary argument, and the most annoying path of it is that my wife will be crying unnecessarily which I hate but thanks to a friend who advice we seek medical help I now know better.
Thank you very much for your comment. I appreciate your time in reading it.
Ohh so sorry to hear that and I hope she is feeling well now. Thank you very much for sharing your experience. Sometimes sharing our experience can help others to resolve their problems. I wish I knew about all the resources I found out in the article 10 – 15 years ago. So that I could have been able to help more people.
This is a topic that has been around for years. When I was having my children 35 to 40 years ago, people were aware of the issues but it was no something that was openly discussed as it is now.
The article you share gives hope to those that recognize “something is not right”. You provide suggestions that a new mom can do to work through this as well as resources in the community. This is great because there are a lot of people that would not begin to even know where to try and get help.
Thank you very much for reading the article and leaving a comment. I really appreciate your time.
I am glad you found it helpful to others. That’s right, I hope those resources are going to be helpful for those who are in need. I am glad to have found them.
This is a very sound topic in baby care, pregnancy, and other pediatric related topics. You have selected a very straightforward topic to express your ideas which is a very good selection.
Throughout the whole article Meena, you have chosen a simple set of words to express the topic briefly which directed me to read the whole article.
I think this is a kind of in-depth article to describe the topic. thanks for sharing Meena.
Thank you very much for reading through the article, Chintaka. I appreciate your time and your comment.
I am glad you found the wording simple to understand and easy to read. This is a pretty huge achievement for a writer to be able to deliver the right message and for the reader to grasp the idea. I am glad I did my job properly and thank you for mentioning it. You are kind.
This is a common illness which is still existed among women after giving birth. Some may know and some may not. The whole purpose behind the article was to be able to deliver the message in a simple words unlike doctor’s words (I mean to say in medical terms).
All the best!
An excellent article. I hope as many women as possible read it. I would have only a small amendment. Women have always suffered from postpartum depression. Mine was born 33 years ago and I had a rather accentuated shape. The child and the husband annoyed me as well. I remember throwing the baby on the third floor. My luck was that I had a wise mother. She recommended me to go to the sea, knowing how much I like it. So I left the baby with her and went to sea. I came back redone.
Thank you very much Carmen for your comment. I really appreciate your time in reading it through and so sorry to hear about the times of your baby. I am glad you had a big support which was your mother at the time. I agree that mothers are our best friend and even when we grow old, they continue to help and support and guide us in every step of the way.
I am very happy about the fact that you found it worth sharing with the rest of the women. I would be glad to be able to help another woman or maybe more. Who knows!
All the best to you!
This article gets to the root of post partum depression. Onlookers might say that it is not something real but if you have been there, like I have, then you know how overwhelming it can be. I used to always pride myself as being in control of most situations. When my daughter was born, and she would not settle down and go to sleep, or when I just managed to get a nap and she would wake up screaming, it was hard. I read a lot of books and spoke with people who gave me what sounded like good advice, but every child is a science and responds differently. Looking back over that time, my advice would be to have someone give you a break. Some situation, maybe an hour or two when you are away from the child. You will have time to think and to breathe, and not have your whole self taken away for 24 hours. That is why your most valuable tip for me is to have some support. Thank you!
Thank you very much for your time and for your comment. I really appreciate that. You’re right! until we haven’t been in that situation, we feel like I may be exaggerating but if it had already passed and we actually experienced the situation our self then we know.
You’re most welcome and thank you for your honest comment and sharing your experience so that the rest could benefit from your knowledge.
I am not a parent yet, but i found it genuinely heart touching , impressive.. its good to be aware of everything related to be a parent…thanks admin.