Hope and healing in postpartum depression.
Riya was 33 y ears old when she delivered a lovely baby boy named Abir. She had been married to Akash for 3 years and Abir was their first baby. They were thrilled. Overjoyed. With all this excitement, they were also fully prepared to become parents. Riya, especially, was prepared to embrace the ups and downs of being a parent, to modify her daily schedule to fit the baby’s feeding and sleeping times, and to step away from work to guarantee her presence for her child. Riya was confident she had Akash’s support, her family, and a night nurse, and never stressed about managing this delightful new chapter of her life. Riya had indeed taken the initiative to create a 3-month plan for herself with her therapist, whom she had been regularly seeing for 2 years due to her chronic depression.
Riya had consistently been willing to seek assistance from mental health experts. Upon encountering mood swings, exhaustion, and sleeplessness in her early 20s, she turned to her friends and family, and social media to find the best mental health experts, clinics, and self-help resources. In her search for a reliable therapist, Riya was both determined and receptive to the enduring nature of the journey. She went through 6 therapists before ultimately discovering one w ho suited her personality and grasped her communication style.
A blend of self-help strategies including meditation, frequent exercises, and nutritious eating together with ongoing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, helped Riya to cope with her depression. Riya additionally consulted a psychiatrist at her therapist’s suggestion to guarantee she had a support system of professionals available for assistance with her depression if necessary. She was not afraid of taking medication and was willing to consider it if needed.
In every way, Riya was ready for Abir’s arrival. However, after her pregnancy, she sensed as if the earth had collapsed under her, leaving her in an eternal descent. She stated that this was the sensation of experiencing Postpartum Depression (PPD).
SYMPTIOMS OF PPD:
Postpartum Depression (PPD) manifests at various degrees of severity. A mother may go through “baby blues” following childbirth. This often involves trouble sleeping, feelings of sadness, and overall anxiety. The baby blues start a few days post-delivery and typically continue for about two weeks.
PPD, on the other hand, is a more persistent and severe type of depression. It encompassed mood fluctuations, intense crying, a potential decrease in appetite, challenges in bonding with your baby, social withdrawal, insomnia or oversleeping, extreme tiredness, irritability, and anxiety about being an inadequate mother. PPD can result in a rare condition known as Postpartum Psychosis, which occurs during the first week after childbirth. In this case, the symptoms are significantly more severe and encompass disorientation, hallucinations and delusions, insomnia, paranoia, self-harm attempts, and fixations concerning the baby.
Postpartum Depression can be explained as a sensation as a woman has never experienced prior, as it was inseparably tied to her child. A small creature, which has just arrived, becomes more valuable than anyone or anything else in the world. However, connected to this affection, there is also a sense of inadequacy.
Even with her extensive preparation and numerous support systems, like many women are unable to cope with the unpredictability of a baby. The unending, unbearable weeping. The necessity of breastfeeding at consistent times, along with a baby’s sporadic difficulty in latching. The absence of a sleep routine; women fear that something could occur to their baby during his sleep, so they stay awake, anxious, even when the baby rests.
This ongoing worry blurs a woman’s perspective. She becomes annoyed with her husband and also her family. Sometimes she wished for their absence, and sometimes she would feel lonely when they departed for a while. Sometimes, she hoped her husband would take care of the feeding, but then she felt remorseful when the husband or the nurse would feed the baby with a bottle.
Sometimes, she longed for a consistent work of routine and felt annoyed that her career was stalled despite having arranged this hiatus with the complete backing of her supervisors and coworkers. During this time, a woman’s feelings waver endlessly. The intense ups and downs exhausted them completely and she feels that she is losing control over everything.
The treatment didn’t resolved the problem, but it definitely reduced the intensity of the situation and aided her in recovering more swiftly. A crucial mediating factor in Riya’s management framework was her support system. Akash and their extended family grasped PPD. Consequently, when Riya had mood fluctuations, her family recognized the likely reason and stayed highly compassionate.
Specifically, Akash made efforts to take paternity leave to care for his new born as well as to support his wife’s mental-well being. A profound sense of fairness and duty infused the words and tone of our conversations. Akash sensed the necessity to be equally engaged, conscious, and considerate about child-care in every aspect. This encompassed PPD.
Another aspect that reduced the intensity of PPD was Riya was her proactive involvement in therapy. She was fortunate to have the financial resources to see both a psychologist and a psychiatrist. When she started to feel down after giving birth, she contacted both specialists and was placed on a controlled and brief medication regimen. It was tracked weekly and modified based on Riya’s needs.
Riya’s absence of fear regarding medication was a crucial element in her handling of PPD. As long as the mental health experts could articulate the necessity of the medication in a thorough and considerate manner, Riya stayed receptive to using them. Akash ensured he educated himself about his wife’s medications to comprehend the purpose of each one, the duration for which they were prescribed, and any potential side effects.
POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION IN INDIA:
Naturally, Akash and Riya are definitely not an ordinary couple. They are not only financially secure but also highly conscious of their mental health and quite receptive to seeking assistance. None of this is ordinary, particularly in India. In the Indian scenario, recognizing and addressing PPD symptoms can be more difficult because of cultural subtleties and societal pressures on new mothers.
The urgency to quickly adjust to motherhood and the stigma related to mental health may result in an underreporting of PPD symptoms. Indian mothers might encounter distinct stressors like societal pressure for favoring sons, which can heighten feelings of inadequacy and guilt, especially if the baby is a girl. These cultural influences, along with the unawareness of PPD, result in many Indian mothers enduring their struggles in silence, not realizing that their feelings correspond with the signs of postpartum depression.
Cultural traditions, societal norms, and family interactions greatly impact a mother’s emotional health. For instance, the existence of joint family structures can result in heightened pressure and expectations, while simultaneously offering a support system.
Nonetheless, this assistance can occasionally be a double-edged sword, as it might carry its own collection of demands and expectations. Moreover, the stigma surrounding mental health challenges in Indian culture can greatly increase the likelihood of experiencing PPD. Grasping these socio-cultural dynamics is crucial for effectively tackling postpartum depression within the country.
Many doctors say that mensuration, pregnancy and menopause are major life changing decisions in the lives of women, and people around them should create a healthy environment. Small steps lead to a better life. Just as we prioritize the physical health of a baby and a mother, as families we should also take care of their emotional well-being, especially of women during the postpartum period. It is crucial to normalize conversations about PPD and ensure accessible resources for all mothers.
Addressing PPD not only aids recovery but also fosters healthier relationships, between mothers and their children, ultimately benefiting families and communities as a whole.
