Psychologists say women going through postpartum depression can do better if they get understanding and support from their spouses.
Lack of support from spouses during pregnancy, and after birth of a baby, have also been identified as triggers of the condition.
Clinical psychologist at Karu General Hospital, Abuja, Alex Agara, also said postpartum depression can be nipped in the bud with more sensitisation at antenatal level.
He also advocated advocacy to sensitise others on the symptoms and triggers of the condition, as those who suffer it oftentimes do not know because it doesn’t go on for long in some women.
“Postpartum depression is not a spiritual issue; it is a condition we treat in hospital using psychotic medicines or antidepressants, depending on the symptoms presented.
“Those affected may not know but those around them should seek medical help for them when they notice these symptoms,” he said.
Corroborating that lack of spousal support could be a trigger, a survivor Blessing O., her husband was never there for her.
“He said he didn’t know it was a serious issue even though my family wouldn’t stop calling him to come and check up on me. My husband and his family members called me mad, none of them reached out to me either during the pregnancy or after I had the baby.
“I attempted suicide but I couldn’t follow through as I got scared,” she said.
Uche Onunkwo, who also attributed the onset of her condition to a faulty relationship with her spouse, advocated more support and understanding for women in the condition.
For Kesiena, even though her husband had no idea what she was going through, he supported her by helping with chores around the house, especially keeping their older child occupied and being supportive in any other way he could when he was around and it helped a lot.
Survivors of postpartum depression who we spoke with were also unanimous in their views that more awareness needs to be created about the condition so that women can know the signs to look out for and what to do when they manifest.
Like many women out there, they said they were not prepared for it in anyway as it didn’t come up during her antenatal care hospital visits.
“Considering how enormous this thing is, I wonder why it’s not talked about in clinics. I’ll also want women who have experienced this to talk more about it.
“Nothing prepared me for it. Now that I know it, postpartum depression should be discussed in antenatal clinics, not even for once did I hear it discussed for my three pregnancies, I only heard about it on Facebook few months into my last pregnancy.” Blessing said.
“The expectations on pregnant and nursing mothers can be very overwhelming. These can be triggers to depressive moods and ultimately, post natal depressive episodes,” Kesiena stated.
To ensure that women do not go through episodes of postpartum depression and are supported through the phase, the WHO recommends that at each postnatal contact with health workers, mothers should be asked about their emotional well-being, what family and social support they have, and their usual coping strategies for dealing with day-to-day matters and be encouraged to tell their health care professionals about any changes in mood, emotional state or behaviour that are outside of the woman’s normal pattern, and at 10–14 days after birth, all women should be asked about resolution of mild, transitory postpartum depression (“maternal blues”) and if symptoms have not resolved, the woman’s psychological well-being should continue to be assessed for postnatal depression, and if symptoms persist, should be evaluated.
Founder of Postpartum Support Network Africa, Onyedikachi Ekwerike, a non-governmental organisation that raises awareness about perinatal mood and anxiety disorders among mothers in Africa, said the organisation has sensitised over 16,577 women, screened 8,156, trained 612 nurses, supported 594 mothers and visited over 50 hospitals for advocacy across the country.
