Mandy’s Story When I had my first child, friends and family would discuss how wonderful and joyful it was to have a baby. This was always discussed with the disclaimer that it is normal to experience hormonal changes. I knew postpartum depression was a possibility, but I didn't know what was considered "normal" hormonal changes and what would be considered postpartum depression. During my son's first months I would constantly find myself sitting up in the middle of the night, not being able to sleep, even though I was exhausted, and just crying. The first time it happened, it woke my husband up and he asked what was wrong, but I couldn’t explain it to him because I didn’t know. He shrugged it off and thought it was just the "normal" after delivery hormonal changes. I didn't feel like myself, but I kept telling myself it was normal. I kept waiting for the joy that was supposed to come with the baby, but I didn't feel joy. I felt guilty, so I nev...
Review From Lesson Three At the end of lesson three, a challenge was issued to learn more about the risks for developing postpartum depression (PPD). Please take a minute to reflect on what you found out about your own personal risk factors. Did you already know about some? Were you surprised by others? This lesson will focus on what you can start doing right now to feel better. Every woman is unique so what works for one mother might not work for another. The best thing that you can do is to start trying because you are worth it. Introduction There are three areas in which women can receive help for their postpartum depression; self-care, medication, and therapy. Medication and therapy will be discussed in the next lesson, but for this one, we will focus on self-care. Self Care According to Wan et al. (2021), the type of food a person eats as well as their BMI have a direct correlation to their depression levels. Eating a large amount of unhealthy food is like...
Lesson 2 Review In Lesson Two we discussed the symptoms in each type of PPD (“baby blues”, postpartum depression, and postpartum psychosis). One thing we know for sure is that it can affect any mother within any race or socioeconomic status. Knowing the symptoms and when they start is important so try to keep track in a mood journal, it will be helpful if you need to see your doctor. Lesson Three will focus on the risk factors, some of which include biological, psychological, social, and lifestyle. Scientists are continuing to study the risk factors and narrow down the research. For now, we have compiled a list of some of the more common risks. Comics on postpartum depression (Source: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/comics-struggle-post-partum-depression_n_5a0db5b4b0c0b2f2f85fab Retrieved 2/17/2021) The comics above portray some of the feelings and thoughts new mothers e...
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