Birth of a child, a new member of the family is usually a time of happiness and joy for the entire family, but this becomes the opposite when the mother feels depressed after the delivery.
Postpartum depression is defined as the presence of depressive symptoms in the postpartum period. It is a complex mix of physical, emotional and behavioural changes that happen in a woman after giving birth. There are many reasons that cause PPD like chemical changes involved after delivery, hormonal changes in the body, age at the time of pregnancy, lack of support from family members and so on.
You would be surprised to know that one out of every ten women will develop depressive symptoms after delivery.
In our country, mothers face a lot of emotional problems during early caregiving days. However, this problem is not addressed by the family at all. In most of the cases, they even don’t have an idea that these are signs of depression that require medical attention. During this time they experience severe mood swings, excessive crying, difficulty in handling the infant, insomnia or excessive sleeping, overeating or lack of appetite, and such depressive symptoms. Under extreme cases, they have the tendency to harm the young baby or themselves.
Birth of a child, a new member of the family is usually a time of happiness and joy for the entire family, but this becomes the opposite when the mother feels depressed after the delivery. Pregnancy and the delivery of a baby is not only a physiological or biological process but a psychological and emotional process as well.
In our conservative culture most of the times, we are unaware of the mother’s pain and mood swings. We start passing our own judgments, ascribe our own definitions and most of the times also prescribe own treatments.
There are many social and cultural factors for this postpartum depression. These could be poverty, lack of education, family problems, unsupportive partners, in-laws and parents, previous psychological disorders, etc. In India, the desire for a boy child in spite of having more than one girl child and the excessive pressure from society for the same is also a cause of depression among young mothers.
At this time, if they give birth to another girl child, this adversely affects the newborn child’s development too. At this point, I have a question. Who is responsible for all these emotional difficulties that a woman goes through?
You may have seen often among your friends, someone who was ambitious and a go-getter in school but gets married at the age of 18. All her dreams shatter and she is forced to bear children at an early age. She has to forego her studies for this and is forced into doing something that she is not at all prepared for, both mentally and physically. Who is responsible for her psychological distress?
There could be another case where a mother delivers a baby and reaches home to find her alcoholic husband, unsupportive in-laws and an atmosphere of hostility at home? Who will then look after her and her postpartum emotional needs?
Society, please be aware of the postpartum depression. Do extend all the medical, emotional and psychological care to the mother.
Hey people, it is all normal, but we have to make this normal. That’s our duty.
Image via Pixabay
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This strange love story reminds me of Princess Diana when she gave an interview about Prince Charles - "There were three of us in this marriage!”
This love was flawed and broken the way only we humans know how to break things with our ego, pride, insecurity and complexities!
Where do I even begin to tell the story of how deep a love can be, how it transcends time, place and people. Perhaps this is a story about how women are their own worst enemies. Either way it is a story that tells us how frail, fragile and fraught we are as humans and how much we hurt each other.
This love story began when I was two years old. Growing up in India in a culture that wove love stories like Laila Majnu, Heer Ranjha and the epic symbol of love, the Taj Mahal, into the very fabric of our existence, love was always an integral part of our lives.
One such love story was of a boy and a girl who were neighbours. The boy, an athlete, artist and a poet, found his muse in this shy, thoughtful and in her own way poetic girl, who seemed to worship the very ground he walked on. Her face could be found in all the paintings he created, and her name in every poem he wrote. The girl called him Sagar, which means ocean, symbolizing his all-encompassing love for her.
Everything thing was going well; their wedding date was being finalized, till the boy’s older brother who was a doctor in the same little town, got accepted into Stanford Medical School to do his MS.
Earlier my husband would say, 'Arey! What is there in making dal-roti? It's so simple.' After he had to cook everyday when I was ill, he has stopped saying that to me!
“Arey! What is there to do in making dal roti? Put a handful of lentils in the cooker and let it whistle and make two rotis. After all, how long will it take?” A handful of dal (lentils) and two rotis! This is the story of every woman and no one seems to understand.
Some time ago, after a shopping spree, my husband and I entered the house, exhausted. I had just about kept all the bags aside, when my husband said, “I am very hungry, can you make something.”
I looked at my husband in amazement and thought, ‘He had just had food, how did he get hungry again so soon?’
My husband, as if he had read my face, said, “Arey! You know that my stomach is not filled with outside food. Just make dal roti. What is there to do in making dal roti? Put a handful of lentils in the cooker and let it whistle and make two rotis. After all, how long will it take?”
‘Is this the way dal (lentils) and roti are made?’ The thought came to my mind. ‘After all, I also went along and now I am tired too.’ I was also getting angry at myself that after all, I had spoiled the habit of everyone in the house.
Post weaning depression, a common phenomenon, yet largely ignored in India, and ways to combat it, for yourself and your loved ones.
Postpartum depression (baby blues) is a common occurance largely ignored and very rarely talked about in India. baby blues is not the only form of depression new mothers have to worry about. There is another one, which most women are not even aware of! – It is termed as ‘Post Weaning Depression’.
I always feel that if pregnant women are just made aware that they may face depression symptoms post child birth, it will help them to prepare mentally and tackle the situation in a better way. It can be done easily as they share information about 12 weeks and 20 weeks ultra sounds through a written pamphlet nowadays.
Statistics show that 80% of women post child birth, face mild to strong depression symptoms. Thankfully, the word ‘depression’ is not being considered a taboo nowadays with celebrities coming up and talking about it openly.
“Due to depression I am killing myself.” Radhika wrote. Understanding depression is essential so we can be more supportive to people in its clutches.
“Due to depression I am killing myself. Nobody else is the reason. My brain is enemy,” Radhika wrote in her suicide note. Understanding depression is essential so we can be more supportive to people in its clutches.
V Radhika Reddy, aged thirty six, committed suicide on Sunday, 1 April 2018. She was a popular news anchor for the Telugu news channel V6. As per news sources, she returned from her work, went to the fifth floor of her building and jumped. She leaves behind a fourteen year old son with autism. Radhika was separated from her husband since the last three years and officially got divorced six months back. She lived with her parents and had been diagnosed with clinical depression. She was under medication but was not consistent with the treatment. At work, given the fact she had a mentally challenged son she was often supported by her co-workers but nothing could save her. In the end, she decided to die.
So, yet another victim of the mental demon named depression. We all have our own blues and periods when we feel low which includes grieving at the death of a family member, sulking during a financial crisis or bad grades during exams but there is a vast difference between being depressive and the other lows of life. Radhika was right in her suicide note. Sometimes the worst place one can be in, is the brain. Our own head.
Also known as Major Depressive Disorder, it has become common in recent times. It’s impact affects how one feels, the way one thinks and also how a person acts. It also leaves a feeling of constant sadness and lack of interest in regular activities. It leads to multiple emotional and physical ailments and decreases a person’s potential to function at work and also at home. Understanding depression is essential if we are to offer better support than we do today.