IMMINENT

Postpartum Depression

December 15, 2010

Postpartum depression is depression that occurs soon after having a baby. This affects 10-20% of women, usually within a few months of delivery. The symptoms of postpartum depression includes depressed mood, fearfulness, inability to enjoy pleasurable activities, trouble sleeping, fatigue, appetite problems, suicidal thoughts, feelings of inadequacy as a parent, and impaired concentration. Risk factors include previous major depression, psychosocial stress, inadequate social support, and previous premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Those having postpartum depression may have the negative thoughts about the baby and fears about harming the infant. A woman with severe postpartum depression becomes suicidal and even thinks of killing her infant and young children, not from anger, but from a desire not to abandon them. This condition is rare. No specific cause of postpartum depression has been found. Hormone imbalance seems to play an important role. Childbirth is a turning point in a woman’s life and the adjustment required to these changes may contribute to depression.

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