The Baby Blues and Beyond - Essay Example

Module The Baby Blues and Beyond QUESTION According to an article posted on Working Nurse website, the most significant issue that affects the individual or family development is postpartum depression (PPD). This PPD may occur as early as immediately after the birth of a child or as late as a year after birth. This depression mainly affects the mother; however, it may also affect the father. Consequently, both parents may suffer from PPD. At this point in their lives, both parents may experience Baby Blues.

Baby Blues refers to certain mood changes that occur after childbirth. These mood swings are mainly experienced by the mother of the child. However, men may also exhibit some behavioral changes despite being exempted from hormonal changes during the pregnancy period. Therefore, PPD could be easily misinterpreted as baby blues. This, in turn, accounts for the enormous number of people who unknowingly suffer from PPD. The fact that PPD can affect both male and female takes a toll on the entire family.

This is because PPD compromises the ability of the affected individual to perform ordinary tasks. Consequently, those affected may find it hard to eat, sleep, concentrate and interact with other members of the family and society. QUESTION 2 PPD is a depression that mainly affects women immediately after childbirth. Its symptoms include (but are not limited to) sadness, hopelessness, low self-esteem, withdrawal, frustrations, difference in eating and sleeping patterns, tiredness, low libido, anxiety, mood swings and irritability.

Its cause was initially attributed to the hormonal changes during pregnancy. However, this was later ruled out because PPD also affects men who do not undergo hormonal changes during pregnancy. Consequently, its cause remains undiscovered. Although PPD can be medicated, the most effective mode of treatment is psychiatric in nature. Therefore, victims of PPD are advised to be part of support groups and counseling sessions. PPD has been observed to correlate with the victim’s income, social class, race and sexual orientation.

Consequently, reports point to a greater prevalence of PPD among African women. In addition, PPD is also prevalent among women with low income as opposed to those with high income. With regard to the mother-infant relationship, PPD may lead to inconsistent childcare. Therefore, prevention measures are encouraged. Consequently, the early detection of PPD symptoms and medical interventions are crucial to the prevention of PPD. QUESTION 3 In both cases, the occurrence of PPD may be misinterpreted as a case of baby blues.

This is owed to the similarity in symptoms between both occurrences. According to the article, the writer admitted that there was much work to be done so as to separate between PPD and baby blues as stated by Clavreul. This misinterpretation could result in a late diagnosis of PPD. According to the article by Clavreul, Kim admits to turning a cold shoulder to her initial symptoms of PPD. She explains that, initially, she viewed the symptoms as normal baby blues. It was only after the symptoms persisted that she sought help by confiding in her husband who advised her to seek professional help.

In addition, in both cases the occurrence of PPD puts strains on the family relations. Family relations are strained as a result of poor interaction between the PPD victims and other family members. According to the article, Kim found it hard to freely interact with her friends as well as family members. Consequently, this strain in relations between family members is not good for the development of the family. QUESTION 4 According to Clavreul’s article, family response to PPD is immediate.

From the article, as soon as Kim confided in her husband about the feelings and symptoms, her husband immediately advised her to visit a doctor. This immediate response was proof of his genuine concern and care. This implies that family members tend to respond quickly to the issues affecting fellow family members owing to the family bond. However, occurrence of PPD results in harmful impacts on the relations among family members. According to the article, suffering from PPD prevented Kim from having a healthy interaction with both family members and friends according to Clavreul.

This was as a result of her failure to have enough sleep caused by PPD. Consequently, this led to her inability to pay attention to a conversation. Thus, recalling her conversations became problematic. Therefore, her failure to effectively interact with her family members must have had a negative impact on her relations within the family. In extreme cases of PPD, a mother may show withdrawal symptoms, and exhibit poor childcare habits. Consequently, this would result in harmful impact on the development of the family.

Work Cited Clavreul, Genevieve M. Beyond the Baby Blues - Articles Archive - RN Jobs, Nursing Articles, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Bernardino. RN Jobs, Nursing Articles, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Bernardino. n.d. Web. 21 June 2012.