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[P560]Postpartum Depression And Breastfeeding

by peterhutch, pet

Postpartum Depression that occurs during pregnancy or within a year after delivery is called perinatal depression. The exact number of women with depression during this time is unknown. But researchers believe that depression is one of the most common complications during and after pregnancy. Often, the depression is not recognized or treated, because some normal pregnancy changes cause similar symptoms and are happening at the same time. Tiredness, problems sleeping, stronger emotional reactions, and changes in body weight may occur during pregnancy and after pregnancy. But these symptoms may also be signs of depression.

Many women experience major mood shifts after childbirth, ranging from brief, mild baby blues to longer-lasting, deeper clinical depression, which is known as postpartum depression. Feelings of sadness and depression are more common after childbirth than many people may realize. It's important for new mothers - and those who love them - to understand the symptoms of postpartum depression and to reach out to family, friends, and medical professionals for help.

Symptoms

Physical symptoms such as frequent headaches, chest pain, rapid heart beat, numbness, shakiness or dizziness, and mild shortness of breath suggest anxiety. Postpartum anxiety disorder is a separate disorder from postpartum depression, but the two often occur together.

A woman who has postpartum psychosis may feel cut off from her baby. She may see and hear things that aren't there. Any woman who has postpartum depression can have fleeting thoughts of suicide or of harming her baby. But a woman with postpartum psychosis may feel like she has to act on these thoughts.

Causes

Postpartum depression is caused by changes in hormones and can run in families. Women with severe premenstrual syndrome are more likely to suffer from postpartum depression.

There may be a number of reasons why a woman gets depressed. Hormone changes or a stressful life event, such as a death in the family, can cause chemical changes in the brain that lead to depression. Depression is also an illness that runs in some families. Other times, it's not clear what causes depression.

Experts agree there are no single cause but rather a combination of hormonal, biochemical, environmental, psychological, and genetic factors. Genetics may play the largest role in postpartum depression, as the single greatest risk factor for PPD is a personal history of depression.

When you're sleep deprived and overwhelmed, you may have trouble handling even minor problems. You may be anxious about your ability to care for a newborn. You may feel less attractive or struggle with your sense of identity. You may feel that you've lost control over your life. Any of these factors can contribute to depression.

Treatment

Postpartum depression can be treated in several ways. Support groups may help. Some women go to therapy or counseling with a mental health professional. This professional may talk with the woman about the risks and benefits of antidepressant medications.

Always consult a psychiatrist or other mental health professional when depressive symptoms continue or worsen; when the new mother feels or expresses a wish to harm herself, or feels or expresses a fear that she will harm the child; or when she becomes suspicious or begins to act in an unusual, bizarre manner.

If bad moods, stress, and conflicts plague the pregnancy, try to head off the probable later depression by getting help before the baby is born. Be assertive; if a doctor does not take the symptoms seriously, get a second opinion.

Postpartum depression is a much more common problem than once thought with as many as 15% of new mothers suffering from symptoms of depression, bipolar disorder (also known as "Manic" Depression) to schizophrenia. Most cases of Postpartum depression are from new mothers, but it can affect a woman after any pregnancy, usually within three months after child birth.

Doctors don't really know what causes this type of disorder. There have have been many studies done and there are a few theories as to possible causes, but no hard facts, as of yet. Below are some of the theories resulting from many different studies done on this condition.

Some studies show that it could be caused by a sudden, dramatic change in the level of a woman's hormones. This is a distinct possibility considering that the body is taken from having such a large amount of hormones to literally being "brought back to reality" with her hormones returning to a normal level. This occurs very suddenly over the twenty four hour period following childbirth. This is similar to the mood changes a woman experiences when suffering from Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (PMS).

Other studies disagree. They tend to believe that it has something to do with the dramatic changes in the person's life by the stress of suddenly entering into motherhood. This is another possibility to consider as each person will react differently to different situations and different forms of stress.

Another study done shows that there are changes in thyroid hormones that bring about changes in women such as mood swings, anger, sadness and insomnia. This can be detected with blood tests and resolved by giving the patient medication to help get their hormone level back to normal.

Others say that the condition is brought on by the sudden shock of having all of the enormous responsibility that goes with having a child. Suddenly being responsible for the life of another human being is difficult for some women to grasp.

Another part of the difficulty is lack of sleep brought on by late night feedings and irregular sleep patterns, long periods of the baby crying and trying everything that they can think of to get the child to stop, without any results. This can bring on terrible feelings of guilt and thoughts of themselves as being a bad mother. This can lead to the mother feeling overwhelmed and helpless.

Another potential "trigger" to postpartum depression could be the amount of weight gain. This is a very sensitive topic for many women. Their self esteem could suffer from this, especially if they have a spouse or significant other that is not very supportive. They may have had high hopes of their body immediately returning to normal after giving birth, but may be faced with the reality that, for some, they're overweight for the first time in their life.

These are all just theories of course and will be until medical science can establish the truth, based on facts.

If you or anyone that you know is suffering from what you think may be postpartum depression, please seek medical attention as soon as possible. There may be treatments that your doctor can offer that will be helpful to get you or your loved one through this rough time in your life.

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