Postpartum Depression Symptoms, Causes and Treatments

The Postpartum depression is a depressive disorder that can be moderate or severe, and that occurs in women after giving birth. It is part of depressive disorders, which are quite common in the general population (especially in women), and can occur at any time in life.

It is a very common syndrome among women who have just become a mother, however, not all the symptoms experienced after childbirth indicate that they are suffering from depression..

The presentation of this depressive picture does not have to occur immediately after delivery, but can occur from a few days after delivery, up to a year after giving birth. Most of the time it usually appears about 3 months after the birth of the child.

So if symptoms show up within a few weeks of giving birth, it could be postpartum depression. It should be noted that this disorder causes suffering and discomfort both in the person who suffers it and in their family nucleus, and affects the health of the newborn.

It is clear that postpartum depression is a serious depressive condition that has the peculiarity of developing in women during the days or weeks after the delivery of their child.

Let's go now to see what the typical symptoms of this disorder are to be a little clearer about its characteristics.

Article index

• 1 Symptoms
• 2 Diagnosis
• 3 How do I know if I have postpartum depression?
• 4 Statistics
• 5 Causes
  • 5.1 Psychosocial factors
  • 5.2 Biological factors
  • 5.3 Delivery
  • 5.4 Preconceptions of motherhood
• 6 Treatment
• 7 References

Symptoms

Like all depressive conditions, postpartum depression is characterized by presenting a large number of symptoms. You probably already know what are the most characteristic symptoms of depression such as feelings of sadness, crying or lack of interest in things.

However, beyond the most popularly known, postpartum depression can present a wide variety of symptoms, which can be of equal or even greater importance.

These symptoms are as follows:

• Sadness: it is the most frequent symptom. The woman with postpartum depression has a depressed mood and often feels miserable, unhappy and permanently crying.
• Appetite changes: It is quite common for appetite and food intake to change markedly, either increasing or decreasing. This symptom is usually reflected in the weight of the patient, which increases or decreases significantly.
• Irritability and agitation: the depressive picture usually causes a more irritable and agitated state of the woman in front of her husband, relatives, even with the newborn child.
• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt: feelings of sadness are often accompanied by these feelings. Women often feel worthless and guilty about suffering from depression and not being able to take good care of their newborn child.
• Absence of pleasure: Like all depressive conditions, this is a practically omnipresent symptom in all postpartum depression. It will be very difficult for the patient with depression to have interest or experience pleasure with anything.
• Insomnia: it is very common for postpartum depression to be accompanied by great difficulty falling asleep, and having altered schedules and rest times.
• Loss of energy and fatigue: depression causes a much higher fatigue than usual, with a notable loss of energy and difficulty in performing any task, thus falling into inactivity (asthenia has similar symptoms).
• Anxiety: a woman with postpartum depression tends to show anxiety states manifested through a feeling of fear of not being able to take care of her newborn, not loving him enough or being unable to be alone with him.
• Disconnection: Postpartum depression tends to cause the sufferer to have a certain difficulty in paying attention to the most relevant aspects of their life, and they are disconnected from their context and focused on their concerns.
• Loss of concentration: Similarly, postpartum depression often causes a marked loss of ability to focus on anything.
• Thoughts of death or suicide: Postpartum depression is a serious disorder, and therefore it should not surprise us that at some point during the episode, ideas of death or suicide may appear.
• Problems doing housework or work: Postpartum depression is usually very disabling, so except for the mildest cases, it is usual that it disables the person who suffers from it to continue with their working life, and in many cases to perform household chores.
• Inability to care for the baby or herself: Although it may seem strange that a mother is unable to care for her newborn baby, it should be noted that postpartum depression is a serious depressive disorder, and as such it can disable the mother to take care of her child and even herself.
• Negative feelings towards the baby: the origin that the mother identifies as the cause of her depressive state is the birth of her child. Negative feelings towards the baby (although they cause discomfort to the mother) are usually present during the episode. Even in the most severe cases, you may think about harming your baby. Yet these thoughts rarely materialize.
• Puerperal psychosis: Although not many, some extreme episodes of postpartum depression can be accompanied by psychosis. This psychosis is characterized by a loss of contact with reality, strange ideas, confusion, agitation and lack of sleeplessness..

These 15 symptoms are characteristic of postpartum depression, but this does not mean that if you suffer from any of them you have to have it, or that to suffer it you have to present them all.

Let's see where the diagnosis of postpartum depression is headed.

Diagnosis

Postpartum depression is defined as the development of a major depressive episode during the first 4-6 weeks after delivery, although in practice this episode can occur up to about a year after giving birth.

The clinical picture that women who suffer from it usually present is the same as that that characterizes major depression, that is, postpartum depression does not differ qualitatively from other depressive episodes that occur in contexts other than postpartum.

Therefore, in order to diagnose postpartum depression, most of the following must be present during the weeks or months after delivery:

• The mood should be depressed most of the day, almost every day while the depressive episode occurs.

• There must be a significant decrease in interest and / or pleasure in practically all activities.

• A significant weight gain or loss should be witnessed without any type of diet or weight loss program.

• Lack or excess sleep must occur frequently.

• Fatigue, feelings of worthlessness, decreased ability to think, agitation, or recurring ideas of death should appear on a regular basis.

Although these are roughly the defining points of postpartum depression, this diagnosis must be scrupulously made by a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist, through a detailed examination of the signs and symptoms in the context of a clinical interview..

How do I know if I have postpartum depression?

Although the diagnosis of a depressive disorder such as postpartum depression must be made by a clinical professional, during pregnancy and childbirth, multiple changes occur naturally in the body (hormonal, physical, psychological, etc. )

It is within what is expected, that this series of changes can produce various emotional variations, the appearance of new feelings or the presentation of unusual thoughts; and these small alterations should not necessarily be interpreted as the beginning of a depression.

Faced with this situation, it would be convenient for you to analyze the changes you notice after delivery, and go to a medical professional when:

• Your low mood and feelings of sadness do not go away or lessen after about two weeks of delivery.
• You notice that some of the symptoms described above are becoming more intense.
• It becomes increasingly difficult for you to do housework, take care of your child or perform basic self-hygiene or self-care activities.
• You have thoughts of hurting yourself or your baby.

Statistics

Admitting postpartum depression after giving birth to your child is often a difficult and expensive task for all that it entails. However, this disorder is quite common among women who have just become mothers in our population..

It is estimated that this disorder affects 13% of women after childbirth, and can affect up to almost 30% in adolescent mothers.

Causes

Currently the causes that make up the appearance of postpartum depression are not exactly known. However, multiple different factors have been identified that can affect a woman's mood after giving birth. These are as follows:

Psychosocial factors

There are a number of psychosocial components that can act as risk factors for postpartum depression. Having anxiety, depression or stressful events during pregnancy can increase from having postpartum depression after the baby is born.

Likewise, having little social support during pregnancy or the stages prior to pregnancy, or having had depressive episodes before pregnancy and childbirth can also increase the risk of suffering from postpartum depression..

Biological factors

The regulation of certain hormones is closely linked to postpartum depression disorder. Low levels of estrogens (which already decrease with pregnancy) and progesterone, increase the possibility of suffering from postpartum depression.

Likewise, women with postpartum depression have high levels of glucocorticoids and low levels of tryptophan and folic acid during pregnancy..

Childbirth

Having very high expectations regarding childbirth can cause that when it is time to give birth, that prospect is disappointed, and creates frustration in the mother.

Many cases of women who suffer from postpartum depression have experienced a complicated or traumatic delivery, premature birth of their children or health problems in the newborn.

Preconceptions of motherhood

Motherhood is often conceived as a time when women must be radiant, vital, and capable of performing all tasks perfectly..

Women who maintain this perception about motherhood and who, once they are a mother, have difficulties in carrying out all the tasks that are presented to them, they may be more exposed to starting a picture of postpartum depression.

Treatment

The first-line intervention for severe depressive episodes is drug treatment, usually the administration of antidepressants..

However, despite the fact that antidepressants have more than proven efficacy in reversing depressive episodes, in postpartum depression the use of drugs must be closely monitored, due to the possibility of affecting the baby through breastfeeding.

Antidepressant treatment is ruled out in women with postpartum depression who are breastfeeding, as it could be very harmful to the newborn

With regard to psychotherapy, interventions such as cognitive behavioral treatment, partner support or interpersonal psychotherapy have widely shown their effectiveness in postpartum depression, so it is recommended that pharmacological treatment be complemented with psychological therapy.

Do you know postpartum depression? Tell us what you know about this disorder so that we can help readers!

References

1. Arbat, A, Danes, I. Postpartum Depression. Catalan Institute of Pharmacology Foundation. Vall Hebron University Hospital 2003. 121 (17): 673-5.
2. Burt VK, Stein K.
   Epidemiology of depression throughout the female life cycle. J Clin Psychiatry 2002; 63: 9-15.
3. Gavin N, Gaynes B. Perinatal Depression. A Systematic Review of Prevalence and Incidence. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist; 2005. p. 106.
4. Mauruga, S. Analysis and Prevention of Postpartum Depression. Women's Institute. nineteen ninety six; 84: 505.
5. Sohr-Preston SL, Scaramella LV. Implications of timing of maternal depressive symptoms for early cognitive and language development. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev. 2006; 9: 65-83.