Postnatal Depression More Than The Baby Blues.
What is it? Postnatal depression (PND) can take two forms. One type occurs when a patch of postnatal 'blues' which started soon after the baby's birth becomes worse and more distressing as time passes. The second type develops more 
slowly and is not noticeable until several weeks after the birth of the baby.
Symptoms of post-natal depression
DEPRESSION : Many Mums begin to feel depressed, increasingly despondent and hopeless soon after the baby is born. They may feel miserable and sad for no particular reason and may find that they spend a large part of each day in tears. Sometimes the Mum may feel rejected by her partner, family, friends, or even by the new baby; these feelings usually have no foundation. The depressed mother may feel permanently tired and lethargic, unable to cope with household chores. She may give up bathing, dressing properly or making-up.This is not to be confussed with a mum who has simply had no time to get dressed or has been catching up on sleep!
Sometimes, the care of the baby is too much for the mother whilst she is unwell and someone else must be found to 'take over' until she has recovered. It is usually inadvisable to separate the mother from her baby, as this may serve to deepen the depression.
ANXIETY : A depressed mum may feel extremely anxious about a variety of subjects and situations. She may be worried about her health, possibly having felt unwell since the birth of the baby.The most common form of anxiety is server worry about the baby, ie What if she stops breathing,is she sick, am I doing this right.
She may experience severe pain for which the doctor can find no satisfactory explanation. This pain is often in the head or neck. Other mothers suffer backache and chest pains which they fear are due to heart trouble. The mother may have a number of minor medical complaints which can cause undue distress.
Pain and a general feeling of illness or constant tiredness are very common symptoms of depression and can become worse if the depression remains untreated. .
The mother may feel too tense and anxious to go out of her home. She may not be able to bear to meet even her closest friends, and may refuse to answer the door, telephone or letters. In this situation, she will not venture out to consult a doctor so a home visit may be required.
PANIC : A depressed mother is often very confused by everyday situations and may experience feelings of panic. These feelings are unpredictable and often very distressing. She is unable to calm down and every effort should be made to avoid the situations in which she becomes distressed.
TENSION : Feelings of tension are often associated with depression. The mother who experiences these feelings finds them extremely distressing. She is quite unable to relax however much she is encouraged to do so. She may feel as if she is about to explode when the tension is at its worst. This type of tension, when it is a symptom of depression, may not be helped by taking tranquillisers. Women taking these drugs should not despair if they do not work, as there are other drugs; which run no risk of dependency; that can be of more help.
OBSESSIONAL AND INAPPROPRIATE THOUGHTS: A mother suffering from depression commonly has some obsessional thoughts. These may be about a person, a situation or about a certain activity. Some mothers become very frightened and believe that they may harm a member of their family especially the baby. These fears are very common symptoms of depression and may or may not be accompanied by feelings of guilt. Such fears are almost entirely unjustified, but if a mother is afraid that she may hurt the baby then she should tell her family and doctor.
A distressed mother may find the companionship of a suitable relative or friend reassuring. This phase of the illness usually passes quickly once the treatment has started to have its effect. the mother will benefit from the company and moral support of a companion as she recovers.
CONCENTRATION : A depressed mother will probably find that she cannot concentrate on books, television programmes or even conversation. She will find, to her distress, that her memory is very poor and she will often feel very disorganised. She will find that she sits for long periods of time doing nothing, but thinking about how awful she feels.
SLEEPING : Often a depressed mother will have some form of sleeping difficulty. She may be awake until the early hours of the morning, or get no sleep at all. Some find that they sleep very fitfully and waken frequently, others that they wake in the early hours of the mrning with nightmares, and then cannot get back to sleep.
Many depressed mothers dread going to bed as their symptoms trouble them more at night. Indeed some mothers find insomnia one of the most distressing aspects of the illness. Often mothers are prescribed sleeping pills by their G.P. and find them ineffective even taken in large doses. This situation can cause the mother to feel quite desperate. If the depression is treated normal sleep will be restored.
The feeding requirements of a young baby do not help a mother who is having sleeping difficulties. It can be of great benefit if someone else can feed the baby at night.
SEX : A common effect of depression is a complete loss of interest in sex. This may last for some time, and is helpful if partners realise that this is a symptom of the illness and that sexual desire will return as soon as the depression lifts. It should be stressed that a return of sexual desire is often the last sign that a depression has lifted, and great patience is necessary if a relationship is to be kept intact whilst a mother recovers from postnatal depression.
During the illness physical contact in the form of touching, hugging and cuddling can do much to reassure both partners and is very beneficial.
If you feel you have more than the "baby Blues" seek help and advice.
Talk to other mums, your GP or PND support group.
PND IS SERIOUS AND CAN BE MANAGED AND CONTROLLED.
IM A PND SURVIOUR AND I CAN HELP!!
(August 2006) (
