Why does it mean “forbidden”? What is “postpartum depression”? Let me break it down for you. Giving birth to a child is the most magical thing that ever happen to almost every woman in the world. It should be related to excitement, happiness and children. But what happens if it is not? That is what postpartum depression is. Every 10-20% women will experienced postpartum depression after giving birth.
Postpartum depression usually happen 3 days-1 week after delivering a baby. It was called forbidden, because not much people want to talk about it, or probably some people don’t realized it. So, here is the symptoms:
- Restlessness, anger and irritability
- Excessive crying
- Difficulty bonding with your baby
- Loss of appetite or interest
- Trouble sleeping
- Thoughts of suicide
- Trouble focusing, concentrating and focusing
- Feeling of shame, guilt and worthlessness
- Avoiding family and friends
From the symptoms above, it can tell that postpartum depression is totally different with “baby blues”. It is severe illness. If you find someone you love looks sad or depressed after giving birth, asked if they need any help. Accompany them to go to the specialist. Tell them that they need help. Sometimes, when people come visiting, they are too excited with the presence of the baby and mostly forget the condition of the mother herself.
It is important to know that they also need help. It is never easy for a new mom to adopt with their new environment. The sleepless night is just about to start, the 20 minutes shower is so rewarding now, the quiet at home is now a gold, and there is still lots more that we can’t tell until we experienced it our own.
In this case, both parents are exhausted. Not to mentioned the condition of the father. Sometimes, father can feel postpartum depression too, and it was called paternal postpartum depression. Usually young father or are struggling financially are more at risk of postpartum depression. They are commonly get the same symptoms as the mother, such as, mood swing, loss of appetite, experienced anxiety and be overwhelmed.
If this symptoms do not fade in 2-3 weeks, find your doctor, nurse, counselor or therapist as soon as possible because you will never know when it will be worse. There will be time when you can not complete regular tasks, can not take care of your baby or even worse, having suicidal thoughts.