Postpartum Depression: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

Having a child is one of the most rewarding experiences a human being can experience. However, some mothers experience what is known as postpartum depression.

Scientific studies show that between 10 and 15% of the parents can suffer from this disorder, as the Valencia College of Nursing was able to verify.

Fortunately, patients with this condition have a good prognosis thanks to the work of psychologists.

In the following lines we will delve into this phenomenon and delve into its causes, symptoms and treatment.

Types of depression

It is common to suffer a downturn from time to time, because life has good and bad moments. In fact, some experiences can affect us so intensely that it costs us to get back to normal. Feeling sad about an event that has occurred is normal, the problem happens when suffering becomes a too important part of our life and affects our day to day, negatively influencing our wellness..

In these cases we speak of depression, and according to different manuals of mental disorders, depressive disorders can be classified in different ways.

• Major depression: It is the most serious type of depression. There are two classes: single episode and recurrent.
• Dysthymia: known as mild depression.
• Manic depression: appears in bipolar disorder.
• Seasonal depressive disorder: occurs during a stage of the year. For example, in winter.
• Postpartum depressionSome mothers, especially new ones, can suffer from this disorder.

If you want to know more about the different types of depression, you can read our article: "Are there several types of depression?”

What is postpartum depression?

Having a child with the person we love is one of life's great gifts. But sometimes this great experience can bring with it postpartum depression. The first weeks after childbirth can be a time of vulnerability for the mother, who can experience a wide variety of emotions, not all of them positive.

Sometimes this feeling can appear without explanation. Anxiety, sadness, insomnia, fatigue, irritability, excessive tiredness, nervousness, pessimism, can affect the first weeks or months of motherhood.

Symptoms

One of the most prominent characteristics of this type of depression is that it occurs after childbirth, and can last up to a year after the birth of the child. But what symptoms do people with postpartum depression experience?

• IrritabilityIrritability can make an appearance in mothers with postpartum depression, who may feel agitated with their family, partner and even their new child.
• Sadness: the most common symptom. The person experiences a negative mood, the urge to cry, and may experience low self-esteem.
• Insomnia- Trouble sleeping and difficulty falling asleep are common.
• Anxiety: People with postpartum depression experience high levels of anxiety.
• Lack of sexual appetite: Demotivation due to sex can appear as a consequence of postpartum depression.
• Loss of appetite: As in other types of depression, people with this disorder tend to have less desire to eat, especially in the early stages. However, some individuals eat sweets and fats in excess to alleviate psychological distress.
• FatiguePostpartum depression causes a person to feel tired, exhausted, and fatigued, both mentally and physically.

Causes

Postpartum depression can appear for different reasons. They are as follows:

• Difficulty adapting to changes. For example, when the mother does not have time for herself.
• Changes in social and / or work relationships.
• Concerns related to her ability to be a good mother
• Lack of sleep
• Irrational expectations about being a mother, especially in the first few months.

Treatment

Postpartum depression can appear especially in new mothers, and one in ten mothers experiences it. Fortunately, psychological treatment works very well, so the patient usually has a good prognosis.

Many patients go to the family doctor for help, but the ideal is to go to a psychological center like the ones on our list "Top 10 psychology and psychotherapy clinics”. For those people who do not wish or cannot attend a face-to-face clinic, they can benefit from the help of a psychologist such as those mentioned in our ranking: "The 6 best online therapy clinics”.

The importance of psychotherapy

The ideal is to carry out psychotherapy sessions with an expert in perinatal psychology, which is a branch of psychology oriented to the period between conception, pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum and raising a child.

Generally, psychologists tend to use cognitive behavioral techniques, which according to research have a high success rate.

• You may be interested in delving into this content. You can know more in our article: "The 10 most used cognitive-behavioral techniques”

New therapeutic models for the treatment of this pathology

However, in recent years, new types of psychotherapy have begun to be used, and the results also positive.

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy or acceptance and commitment therapy are one of the most used, and both belong to third generation therapies, also known as therapies contextual.

If you want to know more about these types of therapies, you can read our articles:

• Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy: what is it?
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): principles and characteristics