I Have Just Become A Mother….but Am Not Happy….is Something Wrong With Me?

An expectant mother undergoes various changes in her life. You will see the changes at physical, mental and emotional level. There will be pressure from the family…like do this, don’t do that…. eat this, eat that...this is good for your baby, that is not good. Different people, different views. Sometimes certain things might be irritating causing you to get angry, sad, moody or cranky. You might even feel depressed at times. All this is due to the hormonal changes taking place in the body during pregnancy. And then, after the delivery you might feel same pressure ….the mother is expected to know everything about the baby. If the baby cries, why is the baby crying? You are the mother. You should know everything. Having a baby can be stressful for some women no matter how much she loves her baby as there will be deprived sleep, new responsibility, no time for self, mixture of emotions.

So… soon after childbirth you may have ‘Baby blues’ and its perfectly normal.

You will experience:

• Sudden mood swing: feel happy at one time and then suddenly sad.
• feel irritable and angry.
• cry for no reason,
• feel lonely, forsaken feeling,
• might get anxious, impatient.

This baby blues may last for few hours or one or two weeks after delivery and it doesn’t require any treatment. You can just talk to your close ones or friends or moms who have had baby blues.

But when the irritability, sadness, anxiety, despair is stronger than the baby blues and it affects the ability to function, and prevents you to do the routine things, you need to do, then, its postpartum depression you are suffering from. And you need to see your doctor immediately. If not treated the condition might get worse.

Postpartum depression happens in women after childbirth, which is a complex mixture of emotional and behavioral changes. It is linked to psychological, social and chemical changes associated with having a baby. It may develop months after delivery any time during the first year.

How do I know I am having postpartum depression?

Congratulations! You are a mom and you have given birth to a lovely baby. And yes you should be celebrating with your family and friends the arrival of new baby.

• But you are not feeling happy about being a mother,
• Finding it difficult to bond with your new born,
• Having bouts of crying for no reason at all,
• Getting anxious and restless,
• Feeling helpless and hopeless,
• Loss of pleasure,
• Problem with sleeping and eating,
• And you are feeling too tired to do anything.

Then yes, you are suffering from postpartum depression. And when you get suicidal thoughts or you feel like harming yourself or your baby, it can be alarming, as you are suffering from postpartum psychosis. You may be in confused state of mind, have hallucinations or delusions. Suspicious of others, you don’t feel like eating, can’t sleep and you feel like totally staying away from family and friends. You need to see your doctor as soon as possible.

What can be causing this postpartum depression in me?

There might be various reasons one may develop postpartum depression. Not every woman having new born baby develops postpartum depression. 1 out of 7 women may develop severe and long lasting depression after childbirth.

• During pregnancy there is rise in the hormone levels. The hormone levels drop rapidly which may trigger postpartum depression.

• One might find numerous emotional and physical changes after childbirth. Dealing with physical pain after childbirth, you may be concerned about losing baby weight which might make you feel insecure about your appearance and this can lead to depression.

• You may be stressed and anxious about proper care of baby. You may have to spent sleepless nights and getting adjusted to all this changes might be difficult for a first time mother.

You may get postpartum depression during your any pregnancy, even if you never had it during your first one. It can be more prevalent in women with history of depression attack previously or during pregnancy, conflicts in the family, pregnancy at early age, multiple pregnancies, financial stress, family history of mental health problem and lack of emotional support.

Can postpartum depression be treated?

YES. Postpartum depression can be treated. You can follow certain tips to recover from this condition.

• Bonding with the baby: spend maximum time with your newborn. If you are thinking of all the housework you have to do, then just leave that aside and give more time to your baby. You might find it difficult but you will get use to it and slowly you will feel the bonding with your baby getting stronger.

• Don’t say no to help: if someone is willing to help you with your household work or looking after the baby, then, don’t say no. Be little selfish and it okay you don’t have to feel guilty about it.

• Involve your partner: Your husband should equally be involved in taking care of the baby as you. Don’t feel bad about telling your partner to change the baby s nappy.

• Sleep well: If you get time to sleep, just sleep. Deprived sleep can worsen the postpartum depression.

• Eat healthy, exercise go for walk with your baby. It will make you feel fresh.

Many women suffering from postpartum depression are reluctant to take anti depressant drugs. If taken, then there is high percentage of women discontinuing the medicines. Reluctance to taking antidepressant drugs by women suffering from postpartum depression can be encouraged to use alternative medicines or psychological intervention. Both can be done with homeopathic treatment successfully. A homeopathic physician will give the appropriate counseling. You can visit your homeopathic physician every time you want to talk about how you are feeling, the doctor will listen to you actively. This might be sufficient for some women to recover fully.

Also the homeopathic medicines will heal you at physical, mental and emotional level, helping you to regain yourself without any side effects. You will experience the best healing touch without any harm.

Feel free to talk about you postpartum depression.… It will make you feel better.