Due to cultural disparities, postpartum depression can take different forms in different countries and different places with different populations.
In Eastern cultures, for example, people are used to replacing psychological depression, anxiety, fear and anxiety with physical manifestations. When we hate a meeting, we do not say, “I hate meetings,” but rather, “My head hurts, I can’t go on with the meeting.
In the same way, no woman will tell others “I’m depressed after giving birth”, they will only show the fact that they are sick with various meanings or explicit or vague behaviors under the control of depression, it is crucial for her and especially her family and friends to recognize these signs!
1. If a woman is tired and says she is “very tired” when she needs to care for and nurse her baby. We need to carefully screen whether this tiredness is accompanied by depression, frustration and emotional indifference.
2. Mothers who become lonely and shy start to be reluctant to meet people. They are sad and tearful for no reason, and repeatedly talk about their worries and anxieties. Dusk is often regarded by husbands as the “worst” time of the day, and the smallest things can cause her serious anxiety or even a violent outburst.
3, some mothers keep blaming themselves, blaming the people around them for not taking good care of them and worrying that their babies will not grow up healthy. Their mantra is often “I know my own child, he/she is no longer able to, there must be something wrong with it.”
4, they are in a contradictory mood, suddenly happy and worried, at one time immersed in the joy of motherhood, at another time worried about their own body shape, work hindered, frustrated, life difficult.
5.They consciously or unconsciously avoid getting too close to their babies, and are even reluctant to hold them more or to feed them properly and observe them. They can barely or unwillingly pay attention to the baby’s reactions, and the baby’s cries do not arouse the mother’s attention;
6. Their inappropriate and mechanical touching of the baby makes the baby uncomfortable, irritable, and crying, and this reaction further deepens the emotional separation between mother and baby.
7.After one month, the infant is enough to recognize the meaning of human expressions, but the mothers’ rigid smiles and sad eyes will make the baby become difficult to manage. The mothers also begin to hate the baby, they believe that the baby’s appearance has seriously disrupted the balance of their lives, they can no longer be the focus of life, and even begin to want to hurt or abandon the baby.
8, their attention, memory, judgment is getting worse and worse, feel like “hit by the head” like dazed, difficult to control.
9, they gradually lose confidence in life, that life is meaningless, anorexia, drowsiness or insomnia, easy fatigue, loss of libido, may also be accompanied by some physical symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, burning sensation in the stomach, skin tingling.
10. The family members, who are tormented, start to persuade the mother to accept the help of doctors or other people, but the answer is “I’m not sick, I’m just a little uncomfortable, I’ll be fine after a while!”
What to do?
If depression is an emotional cold, then postpartum depression is a cold with a little fever, although it has the possibility of self-healing, but with some external forces, it can still be dealt with more safely and effectively.
1, for mothers who want to breastfeed, light therapy is not lost as an effective and safe treatment method. There is a light therapy device, through a special light tube, the release of adjustable 2500-10000LX (lux) white cold light irradiation patients, can play a good antidepressant effect. Unfortunately, this light therapy device is not yet available in the domestic market, but readers who are interested can mail-order the product from abroad on some shopping sites. If you can’t buy this product, you should pay attention to more outdoor activities, receive sunlight, moderate exercise such as doing health exercises.
2, maternal homogeneous group. In some consciousness ahead of the maternity hospital, the staff will be a group of pregnant women with the same family background, life situation, prenatal health education, postpartum organization group exchange, mothers confide in their distress, share the joy of others, mutual support and mutual acceptance, so that their tired and nervous mind in the group to get a reasonable release.
3. The excessive utilitarianism of fetal music often makes mothers lose interest in listening to the music itself. Let’s abandon such utilitarianism and return to the beauty of music itself. The relaxing violin concerto and the accompanying progressive muscle relaxation training will relax the mother’s body functions, and the relaxation of the body will further promote the psychological relaxation, this semi-autonomous way of regulation is easily accepted and liked by the mothers.
4. The crying of babies often disturbs mothers who are depressed after childbirth. Teaching them to recognize the meaning of their baby’s cries is crucial. Under the guidance of the doctor, we can work together to identify the cries that represent hunger and the cries that represent cold; in this fun process of identification, the mother’s heart will be drawn closer to the baby.
5. Place the baby on the mother’s belly. The baby’s delicate warm skin and the mother’s skin close together, the tactile sensation can be good to stimulate the mother’s warm nature. Teach the mother to gently and orderly touch her baby, thus, the baby’s comfortable and peaceful sleep will bring an infinite sense of accomplishment to the emotionally distressed mother.
6, as for the nutrition and balanced diet, family understanding and communication, husband’s care and comfort, are all excellent “remedies” for postpartum depression.
7.Take help from a psychologist, a series of stress reduction methods such as imagery training, repeatedly reinforcing your peace and tranquility under the guidance of your mind, imagining yourself dealing with all the bad situations, repeated training will enhance your confidence, rationalize your thinking and find better ways to relieve depression and anxiety.
8. Necessary medication is the way to cure postpartum depression quickly. Don’t be afraid to seek medical help and don’t sigh for a long time. When your mood is really bad and uncontrollable, you should be able to seek professional medical help in time, knowing that depression is just a “cold”.