Depression can come in different forms, ranging from a short period of mild depression, the ‘baby blues’ which affect almost half of all mothers in the first few days after birth, to a more intense and long-lasting postnatal depression (PND). The most severe, but far less widespread, form of depression is known as postnatal psychosis or puerperal psychosis, and sufferers often lose touch with reality, displaying manic behaviour and swinging between depression and euphoria.
This guide primarily focuses on PND, although there is a small section on puerperal psychosis. PND may begin during pregnancy, with some women tracing their depression back to the positive pregnancy test or finding out they were expecting multiples at the scan. More commonly, you may find PND developing after the babies’ birth, with the baby blues getting progressively worse as time goes on. Other women do not develop PND until much later; often several months after their babies are born. How should you expect to feel if you have postnatal depression? There are several symptoms to recognise and these include:
- Depression – low mood for prolonged periods of time (a week or more), feeling miserable, sad, worthless
- Difficulties concentrating
- Feeling irritable for a lot of the time
- Lack of energy and motivation
- Tearfulness
- Lack of interest in yourself and your new babies
- Anxiety
- Feeling lonely
- Panic attacks or feeling trapped in your life
- Obsessional and inappropriate thoughts
- Feeling a failure, that you’re not a good mother
- Self blame
- Becoming withdrawn – not wanting to see people
- Feeling overwhelmed and unable to cope
- Physical signs of tensio, such as headaches, stomach pains, or blurred vision
- Insomnia and problem sleeping
- Changes in appetite – either loss of appetite or, less often, eating more than usual
- Loss of interest in sex or intimacy
On their own, these symptoms do not necessarily mean you have PND. If you think you are experiencing postnatal depression, please speak to a health visitor, doctor or midwife who can make a diagnosis, using a screening questionnaire called the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Score (EPDS), which is explained later in this guide.
Courtesy of Tamba - www.tamba.org.uk
