The birth of a baby comes with a variety of emotions packed with excitement, joy, fear, and anxiety. However, it can also bring up something which you don’t expect: depression. The depression that comes after the birth of a baby is referred to as postpartum depression.

Most new moms experience ‘baby blues’ postpartum, which may include difficulty sleeping, mood swings, crying spells, or anxiety. Baby blues begin within the first 2 to 3 days after delivery and can last for two weeks.

3 Types of Postpartum Mood Disorders

There are three types of postpartum mood disorders that women experience after the birth of their child.

1. Postpartum Blues

Postpartum blues can affect 50-75% women after delivery, which may include feelings of sadness and mood swings. You might have frequent and prolonged bouts of crying for no reason, anxiety, or sadness. Postpartum blues usually last 2 to 3 days, but can last up to 2 weeks. It is a relatively mild episode and doesn’t need treatment.

Symptoms of baby blues may include mood swings, sadness, anxiety, feeling overwhelmed, and irritability. Mothers can feel overwhelmed, have difficulty concentrating, experience persistent crying, have appetite problems, and have trouble sleeping.

2. Postpartum Depression

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a type of depression that happens after you give birth. It doesn’t just affect the birth mother, but can also affect surrogates or adoptive parents. Mothers experience hormonal, emotional, physical, financial, and social changes after having a baby. These changes can become a cause of postpartum depression.

Postpartum depression can affect about 1 to 7 new mothers, lasts for more than 2 weeks, and interferes with their daily activities. If you’ve had postpartum depression before, you might likely experience similar symptoms in your next pregnancy.

New mothers can experience alternating highs and lows, irritability, frequent crying, feelings of guilt, fatigue, anxiety, or an inability to take care of the baby. Symptoms may range from mild to severe, appear within a week of delivery or even up to a year after the child’s birth.

3. Postpartum Psychosis

Postpartum psychosis is an extremely severe form of postpartum depression, although it is relatively rare, affecting 1 in 1000 women after delivery. The symptoms generally occur after delivery, are severe, and last for a few weeks to several months. Symptoms include confusion, severe agitation, feelings of shame and hopelessness, paranoia, insomnia, hallucinations, delusions, rapid speech, hyperactivity, or mania.

Postpartum psychosis requires immediate medical intervention because there is an increased risk of self-harm, suicide, or harm to the baby. Therapy might include hospice care, medication, and psychotherapy.

Symptoms of Postpartum Depression

Postpartum depression is not a weakness or a flaw; it is a complication of giving birth, and effective treatment can help you manage the condition. Perinatal depression can come from a combination of hormonal changes, environmental factors, and genetic predisposition, and more than half of cases remain undiagnosed due to the stigma of diagnosis of a mental health condition.

Postpartum depression often manifests as persistent sadness, sleep disturbances, low self-esteem, and difficulty bonding with the baby. The symptoms may include depressive mood swings and low mood, withdrawal from family and friends, insomnia (difficulty sleeping/ sleeping too much), and loss of energy.

Mothers also experience loss of appetite, overwhelming tiredness, lack of interest in pleasure and activities, intense anger, irritability, and feeling that they’re not a good mother. They also feel hopelessness, shame, restlessness, difficulty concentrating and making decisions, and a reduced ability to think logically.

Moreover, you may also experience panic attacks, recurring thoughts of suicide or death, thoughts of harming yourself and the baby, and the mother can develop a hostile attitude towards the infant. Recognition of symptoms and management of perinatal depression is essential for optimizing the health outcomes of the parent and baby.

Read More About: How to Ask for Help with Depression

Why does Postpartum Depression Happen?

The cause of postpartum depression after delivery isn’t clear, but some factors might contribute to increasing the risk.

• History of Depression

If the mother had a previous diagnosis of depression, it can also develop during and after pregnancy. Previous episodes of sadness or depression, which may have occurred during the menstrual cycle, a family history of depression, or using oral contraceptives, also increase the risk of PPD.

• Environmental stressors

Environmental stressors like strained relationships with a spouse, single parenting, financial uncertainties, or a lack of emotional or tangible support from a partner or caregivers can contribute to the problem.

• Complications in Pregnancy

When a mother experiences complications related to pregnancy, preterm labor, a child with birth defects, or special needs, the situation can be depressing. If a child has a cleft palate, having difficulty latching, making breastfeeding a challenge, can also be a cause for postpartum depression in a new mother.

Changes in Hormonal Release

Mothers experience a sudden decrease in hormones like estrogen, thyroid, and progesterone after delivery, and lack of sleep due to the infant waking up frequently can contribute to developing postpartum depression. During pregnancy, the levels of estrogen and progesterone increase tenfold, but they drop sharply after you deliver the baby.

If you have had depression before becoming a parent, you should discuss it with your midwife or doctor. Such depression can evolve to postpartum depression during and after pregnancy.

How long does Postpartum Depression Last?

If you’ve had any of the following complaints after pregnancy, please talk to your healthcare provider immediately.

• Depressed mood most of the day, or almost every day, for the last two weeks
• Feeling anxious, hopeless, or worthless
• Recurrent thoughts of suicide or death
• Thoughts of self-harm or harming the baby
• Difficulty concentrating, dealing with everyday conditions, or making decisions
• Loss of interest or pleasure in your favourite activities

Postpartum depression can appear anywhere from a few weeks to 12 months after your baby is born, and there is no specific time for how long it lasts. Longitudinal studies have found that PPD symptoms may improve over time for some mothers, as some cases resolve in 3 to 6 months after their appearance.

However, some studies have also found that about 25% of mothers had elevated symptoms of PPD even 3 years after delivery. The severity of your symptoms, risk factors, or prior history can affect how long your PPD can last.

Conclusion

There is no formula to identify mothers whose PPD experience can last for a long time. However, with the skilled practitioner and appropriate therapies, you can help manage symptoms and improve the quality of life. That’s where Boomerang Counselling Centre can help. Their team of certified and experienced counsellors can make it easier for the parents to cope with postpartum depression.