Postpartum Major Depression
Postpartum major depression is a type of depression that affecting as many as eighty percent of new mothers at some point in their childs first few weeks of infancy. Scientists have categorized their findings on postpartum depression into three basic categories. These include: the conditions surrounding the birth of the child, diagonosis and treatment of the disease, and the the long term affects of postpartum depression on the mother`s child. Postpartum major depression is not to be confused with Postpartum Psychosis, which is a rare condition with some bizarre symptoms including: confusion and disorientation, hallucinations and delusions, paranoia, and attempts to harm oneself or the baby. One mother who suffered from postpartum major depression accompanied by postpartum psychosis was convinced that the world was to evil to raise children in and proceeded to drown her five children.
The environment the mother was in when the birth occured and the circumstances surrounding the birth play a massive role in developing postpartum major depression after birth. For example, women who have a cesarean section have the highest risk of developing postpartum major depression, while women who give birth naturally at home have the lowest risk. Chantel Haynes, in her article The Issues Associated with Postpartum Major Depression states that, " Women who give birth surgically show signs of grief and loss similiar to the mourning that occurs after the loss of a loved one." (Haynes 44). Places where incidences of postpartum depression were lowest occured where the mothers receieved special treatment from other members of the family for the first several weeks after giving birth. For example, women who waited longer ...
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...e main cynosure when referring to women with postpartum major depression. While many people used to refer to postpartum depression as the " Baby Blues" and made light of women's suffering postpartum major depression is thankfully now very widely accepted in today's culture. Extensive research has now been done concerning the causes and affects of postpartum major depression. It is now known that the environment and circumstances surrounding childbirth affect the likelihood of developing postpartum major depression and that diagnosing and treating the depression can be tricky. Mothers have now also been made aware that their depression not only affects them but their children as well and their ancestors for generations to come.
Works Cited
Haynes, C. " The Issues Associated With Postpartum Major Depression." Midwifery Today 83 (2007):
44.CINAHL. Web. 20 Feb.2014.
Today postpartum psychosis is known to be a serious psychiatric crisis that affects one to two women per thousand in the first few weeks following childbirth. Women tend to experience visual, aural, and olfactory delusions and hallucinations that enables a risk of self-harm,
Knowing the symptoms of postpartum depression is critical for a young mother's discovering that she may have the depress...
A Woman's Struggle Captured in The Yellow Wallpaper Pregnancy and childbirth are very emotional times in a woman's life and many women suffer from the "baby blues." The innocent nickname for postpartum depression is deceptive because it down plays the severity of this condition. Although she was not formally diagnosed with postpartum depression, Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) developed a severe depression after the birth of her only child (Kennedy et. al. 424).
Pregnancies are often correlated with the assumption that it will bring happiness to the household and ignite feelings of love between the couple. What remains invisible is how the new responsibilities of caring and communicating with the baby affects the mother; and thus, many women experience a temporary clinical depression after giving birth which is called postpartum depression (commonly known as postnatal depression) (Aktaş & Terzioğlu, 2013).
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story, The Yellow Wallpaper, portrays the life and mind of a woman suffering from post-partum depression in the late eighteenth century. Gilman uses setting to strengthen the impact of her story by allowing the distant country mansion symbolize the loneliness of her narrator, Jane. Gilman also uses flat characters to enhance the depth of Jane’s thoughts; however, Gilman’s use of narrative technique impacts her story the most. In The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses interior monologue to add impact to Jane’s progression into insanity, to add insight into the relationships in the story, and to increase the depth of Jane’s connection with the yellow wallpaper it self.
Sit, D., Rothschild, A. J., & Wisner, K. L. (2006). A review of postpartum psychosis. J Womens
What would you do if your wife or your relative had postpartum depression after giving birth to her child? Would you try to help her by talking to her, or by taking her to a psychologist, or would you lock her in a house where she has no one to talk to and doesn’t get any professional help? Postpartum depression is a type of depression that occurs within three months following childbirth and symptoms can include delusions, hallucinations, marked illogical thought, thinking of suicide, and fear of hurting the baby (Dictionary of Psychology 551). Recent research shows that postpartum depression affects 10 percent of women in the months following the birth of a child (Depression Statistics: Women Fact Information).
Postpartum depression is indeed a major psychological disorder that can affect the relationship between mother and baby. At this time, the cause of postpartum depression is unidentified, although several factors experienced during pregnancy can contribute to this disorder. Fluctuating hormone levels have been traditionally blamed for the onset of postpartum depression. Jennifer Marie Camp (2013), a registered nurse with a personal history of postpartum depression, states in the Intentional Journal of Childbirth Education that “current research demonstrates that PPD may be a compilation of numerous stressors encountered by the family, including biochemical, genetic, psychosocial factors and everyday life stress” (Camp, 2013, p. 1). A previous history of depression, depression during pregnancy, financial difficulties, a dif...
Postpartum depression: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia (2012, September 19). In U.S National Library of Medicine. Retrieved April 8, 2014
From mild to severe knowing of conditions and their specific symptoms is the most straightforward way to diagnose the problem areas. The types of depression cover major, melancholia, psychotic, antenatal and postnatal, bipolar disorder, cyclothymic disorder, dysthymic disorder, and seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Major depression involves low mood and/or loss of interest and pleasure in usual activities (“Types of depression”). Melancholia, a severe form of depression where many of the physical symptoms of depression are present. One of the major changes is that the person starts to move more slowly. They are also more likely to have a depressed mood that is characterised by complete loss of pleasure in everything, or almost everything (“Types of depression”). Psychotic depression, can lose touch with reality and experience psychosis. This can involve hallucinations or delusions such as believing they are bad or evil, or that they 're being watched or followed. They can also be paranoid, feeling as though everyone is against them or that they are the cause of illness or bad events occurring around them (“Types of depression”). Antenatal and postnatal depression affects women during pregnancy and in the year following childbirth. The causes of depression at this time can be complex and are often the result of a combination of factors (“Types of depression”). Bipolar disorder used to be
Postpartum Depression (PPD) is a period of depression that follows childbirth and lasts more than two weeks. It is experienced by up to 15% of women in the first three postpartum months (Camp, 2013). PPD is well represented in all ages, races, and cultures. The causes of PPD are currently unknown. There are many factors that place patients at a higher risk of developing PPD. These factors include history of PPD, depression during pregnancy, family strains, anxiety, and lack of support.
Most symptoms that come with postpartum depression can be seen in the narrator throughout this story.
The fierce part about the disorder is that women who develop postpartum psychosis have a four percent chance of committing infanticide and a five percent rate of committing suicide. The reason can be explained as a break from reality. The hallucinations feel very real to the sufferer and as such instant treatment is of the essence.
...Stacy Sabraw, and Deborah Sanders. "Moms who kill: when depression turns deadly: postpartum mood disorders are more common than we realize: up to 80 percent of new mothers experience mild depression within a year of giving birth. If the 'baby blues' persist, depression can escalate to dangerous levels, influencing some women to experience psychosis and--in rare and tragic cases--to kill their offspring. (Feature)." Psychology Today Nov.-Dec. 2002: 60+. Psychology Collection. Web. 18 Dec. 2013.
My mother was diagnosed with postpartum depression (PPD), also referred to as postnatal depression. This is a type of clinical depression which can affect women after childbirth. The cause of PPD is not well understood but hormonal changes, genetics, and major life event have been hypothesized as potential causes. Maternal depression has been shown to influence mothers’ interaction with her child, therefore the doctor thought it was necessary for further treatment. Many women recover with treatment such as a support group, counseling, or