Prenatal and postnatal depression

Depression in pregnancy and after childbirth is, at present, quite commonphenomenon and meets, according to medics, every fifth future mother.

Prenatal and postnatal depression is not just the fatigue, tears and moods of a young mother, as is mistakenly assumed. In fact, this is a very dangerous psychological state of a woman and a serious social problem of the family.

According to statistics, it is because of the postpartum depression of a woman giving birth to about one-third of all young families. The absence of a father in the family is reflected not only at the level of the child's life, but also affects his emotional and psychological state.

Why depression occurs in pregnant women ^

As you know, pregnancy is a colossal hormonal and physical strain on the female body. Under the influence of changes in the hormonal background, many women experience strong psycho-emotional experiences and fears for themselves and the future child.

As a rule, prenatal depression manifests itself by excessive irritability, crying, despondency, fear of childbirth, insomnia and even suicidal thoughts. If this condition lasts more than two weeks, it is necessary to urgently consult a doctor for examination, since such symptoms can adversely affect the development of the fetus.

The doctor will prescribe the necessary treatment, and, not necessarily medicamentous. In the arsenal of physicians now there are many modern psychotherapeutic methods that allow you to set up a future mother( in the absence of somatic causes of depression) for a successful and positive course of pregnancy.

Postpartum depression: symptoms and forms ^

Postpartum depression usually begins within the first and second week after childbirth and is manifested by depression, anxiety, apathy to everything that is happening, loss of interest in the child or excessive anxiety and helplessness in caring for it.

The main symptoms of the generic depression that should alert the relatives and medical staff are:

• depressed mood,
• slowness of movements and thoughts,
• or, conversely, excessive fussiness and panic,
• irritability,
• fatigue,
• lack of appetite,
• sleep disorder,
• loss of interest in life,
• suicidal mood.

Depression after childbirth can have somatic( physical) symptoms, most often in the form of constipation, increased blood pressure, tachycardia, migraine and pain in the heart and stomach. Long-term depression( more than 6 months) can provoke the absence of menstruation, even if the woman does not already breast-feed the baby.

On the question of how long the postpartum depression lasts, doctors respond that the timing of this ailment does not exist and the symptomatology of the disease is stable for quite a long time. Only a woman depends on whether she will turn in time for the help of doctors or psychologists, or will tolerate a feeling of despondency, despair and obsessive thoughts.

How to deal with postpartum depression ^

Depending on the severity of the symptoms, postpartum depression can have the following forms:

• mild depressive disorder not noticeable externally, but hard experienced by the woman in labor;
• depressive disorder of moderate severity - lack of interest, taciturnity and depression are visible to relatives and others;
• severe depressive episode - manifested by a strong anxiety, stress, agitation with groans, lamentations, throwing and increased fuss and motor activity.

Any of these forms of depressive disorder requires timely treatment, since the consequences of depression without medical help can be very serious. There are cases when untreated long-term depression( more than 1 year), even of moderate severity, led to hallucinations, delirium and attempts at suicide. In the most severe forms of the disease, such dangerous acts on the part of a woman as suicide and killing a child are possible.

Postpartum depression: treatment ^

Treatment of postpartum depression, depending on the severity of the condition, can be performed on an outpatient basis or in a hospital setting. Inpatient treatment is recommended, as a rule, in the presence of suicide risk, in other cases it is enough to visit a doctor in a polyclinic.

Used medications - medication and psychotherapy sessions:

• From medications, most often, a doctor prescribes antidepressants - the best modern medicine for depression, widely used all over the world. Antidepressants are not addictive and can be used for a long time, for years, until the condition recovers completely.
• If necessary, the patient may be prescribed tranquilizers( sedatives) or antipsychotics( in case of severe illness with hallucinations, delirium, increased motor activity and agitation).
• Psychotherapy for postpartum depression is used mainly as an adjunct to medical methods and has a good curative effect. With the woman in labor, cognitive( explanatory) and family therapy is carried out, aimed at normalizing relations in the family.
• In addition, group clinics conducted in clinics among patients with similar symptoms of the disease are very useful - this helps them to better cope with the difficulties of the postpartum period and not panic because of family and household problems.

In conclusion, I would like to note that, at present, there are many effective ways to get rid of depression. Do not be afraid and feel embarrassed to go to the doctor - that you will help not only yourself, but also your child, because, according to the latest medical research, mothers with depressive conditions, children are more often sick and suffer from disorders.
We also recommend you to watch a video of the famous psychotherapist Elman Osmanov about symptoms and modern methods of depression treatment: