After 3-4 days of giving birth of your ‘little loved’ – if you start feeling a mix of emotions – some time feeling happy while next minute feels distressed, difficulty sleeping even if your baby is asleep, hard time concentrating, loss of appetite, then most possibly you have ‘baby blues’.
Nothing to panic – since baby blues is a very common early motherhood condition (not any diseases) and generally gets away within 7 to 15 days of delivery.
The phase of postpartum ‘baby blues’ may involve mood swings, worry, anxiety, crying, as well as difficulty sleeping. It typically triggers a new mom within the first 2 to 3 days after delivery and continues up to a maximum of two weeks.
Nonetheless, many new moms experience a more intense, continuing phase of depression or an extreme mode disorder aka postpartum depression. In fact, this article is intended to guide new parents about postpartum depression, its symptoms, how long does postpartum depression last, the importance of consulting a physician, treating it, and things you need to do to get recovered fast.
It is worth noting – that if you go through a postpartum depression phase, prompt treatment is essential to manage your symptoms enabling you to bond with your ‘sweetest one’ and enjoy your family life.
Understanding Postpartum Depression
Especially for new parents – it becomes challenging to distinguish between ‘Baby Blue’ symptoms and postpartum depression while untreated PPD can lead to a more intensifying situation.
Symptoms – Baby blues:
The symptoms of baby blues are fairly mild and last for a few days or 1-2 weeks after the baby is born:
Mood swings
Anxiety
Irritability
Sadness
Difficulty concentration
Crying
Appetite loss
Trouble sleeping
Symptoms – Postpartum depression
- Severe mode swings, depressed mood
- Crying excessively
- Difficulty bonding with the baby
- Isolation from family and friends
- Loss of appetite/ or/ Overeating
- Insomnia (inability to sleep) / too much sleeping
- Extreme fatigue/ loss of energy
- Rage/ Intense irritability
- Hopelessness/Restlessness
- Guilt feeling like – you’re not a caring or good mother
- A feeling of shame, guilt, worthlessness
- A feeling for being less attractive with post-delivery skin changes
- Lessened ability to think clearly or make decisions
- Panic attacks
- Thoughts of making harm to you or your baby
- Thoughts to commit a suicide
Make sure to recognize signs and symptoms of PPD which will appear more severe and last longer, and eventually may obstruct your ability or concern to care for your baby and perform other activities.
In this case, symptoms of PPD generally infest followed by Baby Blues or even develop during the first few weeks after your baby’s birth abruptly, or even earlier like in continuation of pregnancy (though rare) or afterwards up to one year.
What Causes PPD
Postpartum depression may be caused due to one or multiple reasons.
Hormonal changes: The considerable drop-down of hormones (estrogen and progesterone) in a new mother may lead to postpartum depression.
Emotional issues: Being deprived of sound sleep, you may feel overwhelmed handling minor things that make you concerned about your attitude and ability to care for your baby. The guilt feeling that ‘you are a bad mother’ and other emotional feels may contribute to postpartum depression. In addition, the postpartum impact on your lively skin makes it look dull, dry, while an infestation of stretch marks affecting your beauty may contribute to postpartum depression.
Medical histories/ Risk factors
Postpartum depression may be experienced not limited to only new moms but after the birth next babies. The chances increase if:
You have experienced PPD after your earlier pregnancy;
You have a medical history of depression during pregnancy or other times;
Pregnancy was undesired or unplanned
You are a victim of mania or bipolar disorder;
Depression, mode disorder, or PPD is a genetic issue;
You experience difficulty while breast-feeding;
Relationship problem among your spouse/ financial issues or week support system;
Complications
If not properly cared for or left untreated, PPD tends to get in the way of mother-child bonding causing other family problems. It may continue for months or longer leading to depression disorder. Consequently, uncared postpartum depression may turn into postpartum psychosis.
Note carefully, it’s a serious disease and its symptoms may infest with scarier thoughts of hurting you or hurting your baby.
To avoid reaching such life-threatening thoughts or behaviors of postpartum psychosis and to get rid of PPD, having immediate consultancy with your doctor for immediate treatment is the best resort.
When You Need to Visit a Doctor?
If you feel depressed after giving birth to your baby, never feel humiliated to admit it – keeping in mind that it’s a common psychological condition for new moms. Also, be practical taking into account your role for your baby’s care and nurturing as well as towards your family. So, if you go through the following symptoms seeming that you have PPD, in order to stop it from lasting consult a doctor right away. This is important when
If your baby blues symptoms don’t go away after two weeks;
The mood is getting aggravated;
It feels challenging to provide the care with your baby deserve;
Inability to undergo daily activates;
Thoughts of committing suicide;
Thoughts of harming you or your baby;
At this juncture, share your emotional issues including suicidal thoughts or making harm to yourself or the baby with your spouse or your loved ones. Remember, you and your baby will be cared for only when you share your feelings. If required call the local emergency help number.
Prevention:
Prevention is better than cure. Although PPD cannot be prevented, however, it can be treated faster enabling you to address the issue and get recovered in a well-planned way. So, with a history of PPD, if you are contemplating becoming pregnant once more, get prepared to counter the intensity of PPD and lessen its term by following the measures as guided below:
Keep your body and mind healthy.
Have deep breathing in the morning on empty stomach;
Intake healthy food during pregnancy, avoid smoking and consumption alcohol
Consult your doctor about your plan and earlier experience. This will help the doctor to keep an eye on your signs and symptoms of depression while often they consider undergoing a depression screening study followed by the baby’s birth. The earlier your issue is identified, you can avail an earlier treatment.
Diagnosis:
Being a first-time mom, if you suspect that you are going through a PPD phase, consult your doctor. The doctor will discuss your feelings, thoughts, and evaluate your psychological condition to identify if you are in the ‘baby blues’ stage or undergoing a more intense form of depression. Share your emotional symptoms with the doctor freely that becomes useful to plan the course of treatment in a customized way.
Treatment:
The doctor may recommend getting counselling (talk therapy), however, if you are in a more severe stage, psychotherapists prescribe antidepressants that are safe for breastfeeding newborns.
Living with PPD
If you feel sad, anxious, irritated, and other symptoms of PPD and wondering about how long can postpartum depression last – remember, the term your PPD is often determined by your prompt initiative to consult a doctor, your positive attitude to change your thoughts and lifestyle.
Keep in mind that PPD is nothing strange for mothers after giving birth to a baby. It doesn’t mean that you are a bad mother or don’t love your baby. Change your attitude aside from having professional treatment make sure to follow the guidelines below which will speed up recovery.
Lead a healthy life: Consult with your doctor and involve in different forms of low impact activities. Intake healthy food, get adequate rest, avoid alcohol. Consumption of omega-3 fatty acids from sources like seafood or flaxseed ( if you are a vegetarian) can be helpful for mothers with a low rate of DHA that heighten symptoms of PPD.
Make time to treat yourself: You will gain the ability to care for your baby provided you care for yourself. If required, hire a babysitter or caregiver to take care of your baby so that you can spend some time for entertainment, hang out with your friends and relations to share your issues and get their valued suggestions. Consider adopting dermology skin care solutions that help rejuvenate the shine of your skin. Also, the use of skinception stretch mark therapy can help get rid of your unsightly stretch marks within a couple of months.
Avoid isolation: Communication is the key. Share with your partner about your baby blue feelings and emotions apart from your friends and family members. Coming out of isolation and becoming social will help you to feel better and shun your emotional issues.
The Role of a Male Partner
When it comes to the role of a male partner to help manage the PPD phase of your spouse – what you can do – matters a lot. You understand your loving wife much better than anyone and thus you need to take the matter quite seriously.
The more you expect her to do; it will be more challenging for her to recover. The longer you assume that her depression will fade by itself or refuse it from happening, the longer she will take to recover.
So be practical. Spend as much time as possible with your wife, watch comedy movies jointly, hug her with passion, nothing can be the sweetest to her than listening ‘ I love you ‘ you will get recover soon ‘ I am beside you… Never worry’.