Postpartum depression, a form of mental illness that affects women soon after the birth of a baby could make them suicidal or want to murder the child, and should be treated with the seriousness it deserves.
Clinical psychologist at Karu General Hospital, Abuja, Alex Agara, in an interview, listed symptoms such as mood swings, anxiety or panic attacks excessive crying, difficulty bonding with the baby, withdrawing from family and friends, insomnia, intense irritability and anger, fear that you’re not a good mother, hopelessness, feelings of worthlessness, shame, guilt or inadequacy, diminished ability to think clearly, concentrate or make decisions, restlessness, thoughts of harming yourself or your baby and recurrent thoughts of death or suicide.
Though causes of this condition are not clear, he said, it could affect anyone and biological changes such as a drop in hormones after childbirth were some common causes.
“Pregnancy itself is a stressor for some women, especially if they do not know how to manage the hormonal changes that come with it. The stress of taking care of the home, including the new baby also predisposes women to postpartum depression and it could also be hereditary for those with a family history of depression,” he said.
Other triggers include traumatic experiences before or during childbirth such as an unplanned Caesarean Section, prolonged labour, pregnancy related injury or ailment such as preeclampsia, previous trauma such as sexual abuse, lack of spousal support, and ailments or defects in baby.
Postpartum depression has also been associated with poverty, migration, extreme stress, exposure to violence (domestic, sexual and gender-based), emergency and conflict situations, natural disasters, and low social support.
Typically, postpartum depression sets in within the first few weeks of child birth.
Statistics by the World Health Organisation (WHO), reveal that about 20 per cent of mothers in developing countries, including Nigeria, experience depression after childbirth and that worldwide, no fewer than 10 per cent of pregnant women and 13 per cent of women who have just given birth experience a mental disorder, primarily depression.
The statistics for developing countries such as Nigeria is even higher where it occurs 15.6 per cent during pregnancy and 19.8 per cent after child birth.
In severe cases, those suffering postpartum depression may even commit suicide and in other cases, because the affected mothers cannot function properly, it negatively affects the child’s feeding, growth and development.
An extreme form of post-partum depression, known as post-partum psychosis, experts say, sets in within the first week after delivery and could ultimately lead to life-threatening thoughts or behaviour.
The psychologist, while pointing out that there could be a lot more cases of postpartum depression than those who present at the hospital, attributed this to lack of awareness creation at the antenatal level.
“Postpartum depression is not a spiritual issue, it is an issue we treat in hospital using psychotic medicines or antidepressants, depending on the symptoms presented. A lot of women go through this without knowing because they were not made aware of it during antenatal and then for some, before they realise they have it, they’re well already.
“Those affected may not know but those around them should seek medical help for them when they notice these symptoms. Apart from treatment with medication, we also counsel them about the condition and what could have predisposed them to it, and then also do interpersonal therapy to mend their relationship with the people around them which may have been strained, as some even become paranoid and suspicious of their spouses,” he added.
