Natural Cure for Depression

Postpartum depression symptoms vary a lot depending on the woman, but they are different from the baby blues in terms of intensity and duration. Postpartum depression starts as baby blues but it becomes more serious as the woman’s psychological condition worsens to the point where she can no longer take care of her baby.

Common postpartum depression symptoms

• Intense irritability and anger
• Loss of appetite
• Sleeping problems
• Extreme tiredness
• Difficulties in adapting to motherhood
• Withdrawal from the family
• Negative thoughts and thoughts of harming the baby
• Serious mood shifts.

If the baby blues don’t go away in two weeks, you should contact the doctor right away. Lots of women show reluctance or feel embarrassed to admit that they can’t care for themselves and the baby. The truth is that they need all the family and therapeutic support they can get. Recovery is much quicker if the treatment is initiated in the early stages of postpartum depression.

Unless you treat the condition, it may evolve in more severe illnesses like postpartum psychosis that involves hallucinations, paranoia and very extreme attitudes towards life and the baby. Both mother and child could be in danger in such cases.

The causes of postpartum depression

Postpartum depression symptoms appear due to a combination of physical emotional and lifestyle factors.

Physical changes include the hormonal changes specific to the aftermath of childbirth. Estrogen and progesterone levels drop abruptly causing the conditions for emotional upsurge. The blood volume gets lower, the immune system changes and so does the metabolism. All these could trigger a psychological reaction because they contribute to fatigue and the mood swings.

Emotional transformations after childbirth test the woman’s ability to care for the newborn. The woman sometimes struggles to recover her sense of identity, and lots of new moms complain that they seem to have lost control over their lives.

Lifestyle challenges also play a role in the installation of postpartum depression. Lack of support from the partner or the family members, older siblings, breast-feeding and financial problems may lead to the installation of postpartum depression symptoms.

Women who suffer from bipolar disorder are most exposed to developing postpartum depression, but genetic predisposition also plays a major role here.

Further risks

A woman who has been diagnosed with postpartum depression has a higher risk of developing major depression later in life. Sometimes, the postpartum depression could last for more than a year, if not treated properly.

There is also a very serious psychological impact on the child. Scientific studies have shown that children whose mothers have suffered from postpartum depression are more likely to develop eating and sleeping difficulties, hyperactivity and tantrums.

The family has the responsibility to help a woman who is depressed after childbirth. Professional medical care may be required so that a treatment and a therapeutic approach is instated. Otherwise, the consequences on both mother and child could be dramatic. Therefore, it is the best idea not to allow postpartum depression symptoms to become severe.