Postpartum depression - is a type of depression that occurs in some women after childbirth. It is usually the first symptoms appear within four to six weeks after birth, but in some cases, the disease makes itself felt only a few months later. It is estimated that one in seven women in varying degrees, suffer from post-natal depression in the first three months after childbirth, though women often do not address this problem to the doctor, taking the symptoms of the effects of fatigue and stress due to dramatically change the way of life.

Symptoms

The main symptoms of postpartum depression include:

• The constant depression and sadness;
• Loss of interest in the outside world, including - to the fact that previously brought pleasure;
• Lack of energy and constant fatigue.
• Postpartum depression can cause other symptoms, such as:
• Sleep problems;
• Difficulty concentrating and making decisions;
• Lack of self-confidence;
• Unusually weak or strong appetite;
• Irritability or, on the contrary, permanent residence in the state of apathy;
• Feeling guilty;
• Thoughts of self-harm or suicide.

Postpartum depression can have a significant impact on the lives of women. Some patients become unable to care for a child, afraid to leave home and become very unsociable, and so on.

Some women suffering from postpartum depression, there are thoughts about harming not only themselves, but also your child. It is quite common - such thoughts visit about half of patients with this diagnosis. In fact, the mother deliberately harming her child only in very rare cases. Nevertheless, the appearance of such thoughts or any of these symptoms, you should as soon as possible go to the doctor. Early treatment of this disease is necessary for the health of the woman, and for the normal development of her child, as well as to maintain good relations with close people.

Many mothers do not realize that they have postpartum depression, and do not say you know about your thoughts and feelings (not least of all because they simply ashamed).

It is therefore very important that the woman's partner, her relatives or friends, in time to notice signs of depression and insisted on referring to a specialist. You can suspect that a woman has postpartum depression if it is:

• Often crying without apparent reason;
• Without the enthusiastic care of the child;
• No reasons for worrying about what happened with your baby or can happen something bad;
• Do not take care of yourself - for example, rarely changes clothes and clean;
• I lose all sense of time - sometimes it does not say, ten minutes or two hours, and do not even know what day it is.

If you notice signs listed a woman who recently gave birth to a child, to convince her to see a doctor, or you can talk to your doctor.

Causes

The exact cause of postpartum depression Depression   unknown, but most experts believe it is caused by exposure to several factors such as:

• Depression during pregnancy (possibly in the form of light);
• Difficult birth;
• Lack of support from loved ones;
• Relationship problems with a partner;
• Financial problems;
• Health problems that emerged after the delivery, for example, urinary incontinence, or difficult to heal the scars after cesarean Caesarean section: do not rush to go under the knife .

By itself, the stress caused by the changes taken place in life, can also lead to depression. Many women think they will quickly become accustomed to the role of mother, simply because such a role laid them by nature. In fact, it may take several months before a woman begins to more or less cope with this role, without feeling of constant stress and extreme fatigue. This mismatch of expectations and reality can be one of the causes of depression after childbirth.

In addition, to deal with some of the children is particularly difficult (for example, if the child is very restless), which can also cause severe stress and fatigue.

It used to be that strong fluctuations in hormone levels during and after pregnancy can cause postpartum depression. At present, doctors believe that hormones may play a role in the development of the disease, but only in combination with other factors. It is assumed that some women are more sensitive to other hormonal fluctuations, so some probability of developing postpartum depression may be somewhat larger than the other.

Treatment

• Support - is the first and important step in the treatment of postpartum depression. It is imperative that the patient had the opportunity to talk about their feelings, and know that it is required to listen and support. After the patient talk to your doctor, he can direct it to a psychologist, as well as advise attending a support group. In addition, such patients may communicate regularly by social workers. Family support is also of great importance, so you need to partner and other people close to the patient had an idea of ​​what postpartum depression and how to behave with the patient during treatment. To do this, they themselves may need to consult a specialist.
• Physical activity - a remedy for depression, the effectiveness of which has been repeatedly and convincingly proven. Your doctor may recommend types of loads that are most consistent with both psychological and physical condition of the woman.
• Psychotherapy. In most cases, the treatment of postpartum depression using these or other types of psychotherapy. The doctor can help the patient to get rid of plants that stimulate the development and worsening of depression, and replace them with the new settings. One of the most common plants in these patients consists in the belief that they have to be a perfect mother and the ideal mismatch creates a sense of guilt, a tendency to self-flagellation, and often - thoughts of self-harm and even suicide. In such cases, the doctor must convince the patient that her idea of ​​motherhood have little to do with reality, and there is nothing wrong with being a non-ideal.
• Antidepressants are assigned when a woman moderate postpartum depression, and its history is already a disease if it severe postpartum depression, and if she did not help psychotherapy. The course of antidepressant treatment usually lasts six to nine months. Breastfeeding women are usually prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, as they are derived from milk only in very small quantities and are not dangerous for the baby.

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