Must Read: Postpartum Depression And The Truth About Most New Moms!
Without a doubt, motherhood is a stage that most people thought of as exciting. Although most moms are really happy about their new roles, some think that becoming a mother is quite sad. For some women, depressive symptoms, which later on becomes a postpartum depression, become visible only after few weeks while there are also other who develop sign even after months or a year after.
Most new mothers have an emotional roller coaster ride after giving birth to their child. What's supposed to be a moment full of happiness and joy are suddenly changed to depressive states such as anxiety, anger, weeping, and sadness. These "baby blues" are usually experienced in the first two to five days after conceiving and ost of the time, it quickly goes away. Sadly, some moms continue to feel the same.
Recently, an article published by Drs. Vigod and Stewart in New England Journal of Medicine discover the debilitating condition called "postpartum depression" and how it happens from 6.5% to 12.9% of new moms. Although there's no confirmed cause of the depression, experts thought that the sudden decrease in hormone levels after birth leads to the progress of postpartum depression to susceptive moms.
According to Harvard Health Publications, those who are likely to experience postpartum are those moms who have a personal history of anxiety or mood conditions, especially if it is occurring or untreated during pregnancy. In fact, women who have a history of depression are seven times at risk of experiencing postpartum depression. Meanwhile, there are also other factors that might contribute to it such as financial concern and poor family support.
For some women, the condition simply goes away without treatment, however, about 20% of those who suffer from postpartum depression still experience significant symptoms even after a year. Therefore, it is important to have an early treatment for the condition. It is also beneficial for someone who suffers postpartum depression to receive adequate emotional support from loved ones and it can be done by home visiting, providing interpersonal therapy, and giving peer support the new mom.