Recognizing postpartum depression

Does post partum depression go away? What does it feel like to have postpartum depression? What are the causes of postpartum depression? Can therapy help improve my postpartum depression? I just needed to smile more.

Talk with friends or find other moms who are wrestling with the same feelings at WhatToExpect.

In fact, it can be debilitating, interfering with the ability to care for your baby and yourself. Learn more about the differences between perinatal depression and baby blues. Doctors need to know why they happen and. PPD is a type of major depression that affects about one in new mothers within the first year after childbirth. Postpartum depression (PPD) can be disabling for a new mother.

If you have postpartum depression , prompt treatment can help you manage your symptoms and help you bond with your baby. The symptoms of postpartum depression include: Feeling irritable. A history of non-pregnancy related depression or a family history of mood disturbances is also a risk factor.

She took some time to answer our questions on recognizing postpartum depression in new moms.

Although the overall prevalence of depression appears to be similar among women of childbearing years—both postpartum and age-matched nonpostpartum women—serious depression necessitating hospitalization is more prevalent in women after the birth of a child. The infant–mother bond can be disrupted by ongoing postpartum depression (PPD) resulting in impairment of the child’s cognitive. Untreated depression in the peripartum period has considerable long-term consequences both for the mother and for the fetus or infant.

Experts agree that recognizing the signs of postpartum depression early is key to effective treatment. For this guide, I read several scientific studies and spoke with two ob-gyns, a pediatrician and a reproductive psychiatrist to help you understand postpartum depression and how to treat it. After childbirth, many new moms assume that depression , anxiety, exhaustion and other stressful feelings are part of being a new parent. They may have trouble recognizing when it’s time to reach out for extra help and support. Private, Professional, Affordable Counseling Available Anytime, Anywhere.

Make A Positive Change This Year. You Deserve to Be Happy. Severe depression drastically changes the chemical makeup of the brain, including serotonin – the neurotransmitter responsible for mood stabilization. As is the case with most mental health disorders, there is a continuum of symptoms ranging in severity from mild to severe.

Some women seem to sail through pregnancy and the first day of motherhood joyfully. Unfortunately, even medical care providers can miss the signs of prolonged postpartum anxiety, sometimes mislabeling it as postpartum depression or attributing it to all the sudden life changes. Many people don’t know that it’s possible to have an anxiety disorder and depression at the same time.

Only a health care provider can diagnose a woman with postpartum depression. Because symptoms of this condition are broad and may vary between women, a health care provider can help a woman igure out whether the symptoms she is feeling are due to postpartum depression or something else. This program teaches staff to recognize the signs of postpartum depression (PPD) and demonstrates a variety of helpful treatment methods, as well as when to intervene in high-risk situations.

We’ve seen the tragic news stories about mothers who take the lives of their own children.

We’ve heard that women who suffer from it don’t feel love for or connection to their babies. We’re not talking about experiencing the “baby blues” because your life now revolves around a tiny human and many things you love have to be pushed to the back burner.