HOW TO DEAL WITH POSTNATAL DEPRESSION

HOW TO DEAL WITH POSTNATAL DEPRESSION Jul,25,2020

Postnatal Depression (PND) is a common condition seen in women after giving birth and it affects at least one out of eight new mothers. Some of the most prominent symptoms of PND include feeling tired, anxious, and low, along with changes in sleeping and eating patterns. So, if you are having any of these symptoms a short while after giving birth to a child, it is wise to schedule a visit to our free women’s clinic and get help.

The health care providers at our low income medical clinic will initially assess your health condition to suggest an effective treatment plan that suits your condition. Treatment for PND typically involves counseling or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), administration of antidepressants, or a combination of both the treatments.

A major proportion of new mothers often confuse PND with the baby blues. Women who have baby blues usually feel tired, anxious, and moody in the first week after giving birth, but these feelings normally pass after a few days. On the other hand, PND is a serious health issue, which will not get better without medical help. Getting help from our free women’s clinic as soon as you recognize PND will make it less likely to develop into a long term or severe problem.

If you are a person who is facing challenges in your life like relationship problems, money worries, or work stress, then you are more vulnerable to PND. Although the symptoms and signs of PND will be different for every mother, the following are a few symptoms, which indicate that you need medical attention.

  • Feeling low or sad
  • Finding it hard to enjoy activities
  • Becoming extremely tired
  • Lack of energy
  • Feeling hopeless and miserable
  • Having some unknown guilt
  • Anxiety
  • Loss of appetite

It is true that most mothers have at least one of these feeling on some days, but if you are regularly having these symptoms on most days and if they are not getting better with time, you might have fallen prey to PND. Note that although PND usually develops in the first few months of giving birth to a child, it could also happen at any time during the first year after childbirth.

If you are having mild PND, health care providers at our low income medical clinic will recommend self-help strategies initially and closely monitor your health condition during the next visits. If further help is needed, our care providers would suggest antidepressants and other treatment options for women with severe PND.

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    About the Author

    Dr. Ghassan M. Al-Jazayrly, MD

    A graduate of University of Aleppo Faculty of Medicine, Dr. Al-Jazayrly or, as he is colloquially known: Dr. AJ, is an oncologist and hematologist of a Complete Care Community Health Center (CCCHC) with more than 36 years of experience. In recent years, he’s been involved with a non profit organization known as Every Woman Counts (EWC) which provides free breast and cervical cancer screening and diagnostic services to California’s underserved populations in order to eliminate health disparities for low-income individuals.

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