Postnatal Depression - Assignment Example

Name : xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Tutor :xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Title : Maternal mental changes after childbirth Institution : xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Date :xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx @ 2012 Maternal mental changes after childbirth Introduction Women go through several mental changes after childbirth because of the hormonal changes taking place after pregnancy. These changes are problems that the mother faces because she is now in a new stage of being a mother. They are common in mothers between the first and sixth month after childbirth. These problems are all mental conditions including psychological problems. They may also include the mother getting depression and anxious about the new roles in her life. Another mental change in mothers after childbirth includes psychosis which is a condition of the mind. Post-traumatic stress is another condition that mothers face after childbirth and is also known as PTSD1. These conditions negatively affect mothers hence; the need for counseling services for mothers at this stage so that they accept their new roles and adjust accordingly. The postpartum depression also known as psychosis is a common depression after pregnancy. It is a mental condition mostly for mothers who get little guidance after childbirth. Mothers get this condition within the few months after pregnancy as they embrace the new roles in their lives. This depression causes lack of confidence in the mother and feelings of irritation even on petty issues like the cry of the newborn baby2. The mother may also feel anger towards herself ant even at times anger for the baby. They get the feeling of hopelessness is because the mother feels that she does not have enough knowledge on how to handle the new born. She sometimes gets the fear of harming the baby and doubting herself. This kind of postpartum disorder may sometimes lead to thoughts of committing suicide. Mothers with this kind of condition should seek some medical attention because it is a serious condition if no attention is given. This kind of illness has several effects on mothers such as mood swings of sadness. It also results to a feeling of hopelessness and worthlessness for the mother such that she feels she cannot mange the role of being a mother to her child. These effects are not good for the baby hence; the need for post natal counseling for mothers to have guidelines on how to deal with such disorders3. Another effect of this disorder is poor bondage between the mother and the child because the mother experiences difficulty in accepting the child in her life. This is makes the mother-child bond difficult. Treatment The treatment for this kind of postpartum condition can be through medication or counseling depending on the levels of depression that the mother is facing. Screening is don eon the mother to determine the level of depression that she is facing. Counseling is given in the first level and the need to get support and guidance from people close to her4. This is so that she accepts the new roles and feels that she can make it to be a good mother. If the doctor diagnosis the mother with higher levels, medication is given to her to help in fighting the depression. The doctor mostly prescribes antidepressants that are not very strong to avoid effects on the baby through breastfeeding. Therefore, mothers should seek counseling after childbirth so that they get guidelines on how to handle this condition. They should also feel confidence about their new roles and be slow on themselves because it takes some time to adjust to them. People close to such mothers should also help them to slowly adjust into the new roles with confidence. Epidemiology of postnatal depression This is a common disorder whose cause is depression and stress in mothers after childbirth especially during the first month after delivery5. Epidemiological research shows that most women go through this stage although; there is a group of mothers who are more vulnerable than others. This depression has negative effect on the parenting life of the mother. It also affects the bonding with the child and the relationship between the mother and the other family members. The major causes of this disorder are more of social conditions that create the mental disorder for the mother. The social causes include such matters like relationships with other people in the life of the mother. This includes the relationship between the mother and her mother-in-law6. Presence of conflicts between the two causes this disorder because the mother feels she is not good enough for her child and for her mother-in-law. This conflict could also lead to lack of support for the mother from her mother-in-law. Another relationship that may cause this mental disorder after childbirth is the relationship with the spouse. If the relationship is not steady, it will cause this condition because the mother feels that she lacks support from her spouse hence; leads to depression. Treatment Immediate treatment should be done on the mother to avoid further damage of these relationships and bonding. Treatment is also done to restore the confidence of the mother so that she feels that she is good enough for her baby and not vice versa. Treatment is done through counseling of the mother to enlighten her on the new responsibilities towards her baby. This creates confidence for the mother so that she is able to handle the new born. In cases where the mother is going through difficult situations in her marriage or relationship, proper counseling is done to her so that she feels that she is not alone. Therefore, there should be immediate administering of treatment of this disorder on mothers after childbirth to avoid its negative effects. This is because if immediate action is not taken, it will affect the relationship between the mother and the newborn and other family members7. This is because the mother feels depressed hence; will avoid other members in the family. This condition also has future effects on the relationship between the mother and the child after he or she grows up because of the poor bonding after delivery. Sociological perspective of maternal mental changes after birth In this section we shall look at the relationship between the mental changes after childbirth and the social impact that it has. The mental changes that take place in women after birth affect their social well being8. The social life surrounding the mother affects the level of mental illness and condition that she gets after childbirth. These social factors are raising much concern in the medical fraternity. Research shows that most mothers who have these mental conditions after birth are going through some social problems that increase the risk of these conditions. Some of these factors are shown below. Sociologists say that there are various social factors that affect the mental health of mothers after birth. They analyze the sociological perspective by looking at the structural factors and individual situations surrounding the mother after pregnancy. They say that there can be control of these factors so that they help in reducing the cases and levels of mental disorders in mothers after childbirth9. An analysis has been done to analyze these social factors so that they help mothers after child birth and reduce the number of mothers who get the mental disorders. This report shows the analysis of such factors and how they affect the mental health of such mothers. It is also a problem to mothers who go through unstable relationships whether during pregnancy or after. This is because it affects their mental conditions after childbirth. This may include such things like a poor relationship with the spouse or in situations where the mother is unmarried. This will negatively affect the levels of postpartum mental conditions of the mother. This is because the mother does not get enough support from her spouse as she adjusts to her new roles and responsibilities of becoming a mother10. Mothers who are in stable marriages and relationship have a better mental stability after birth than mothers who are not in stable marriages and relationships. This is because the transition to motherhood after birth is a challenging period that mothers go through and they need support and so much counseling. This is the kind of support or counseling that such mothers miss hence; the unstable mental conditions. Another social effect is a poor relationship between the mother and her relatives or friends. A poor relationship between the mother and her relatives contributes to depression. It also includes close friends or relatives like the mother-in-laws have a difficult time adjusting to the new roles. They get the feeling of depression and loneliness because they feel that they have nobody to lean on. This negatively affects the mental health of the mother after childbirth. Research shows that these people should be close to the mother so that they give support and guidance on the new roles and responsibilities. However, most are the situations when the mother does not get the counseling that she requires in the transition process. The factors also affect the mental health of the mother because of the changes that take place in the body of the new mother. This leads to the mental conditions and disorders that are explained in the above topics. In conclusion, mothers should have the most conducive social environment after childbirth so that we reduce the chances of getting the mental disorders. The social environment here refers to family amber and friends of the mother. Mothers who get full support from the social perspective reduce the risk of getting mental disorders after childbirth because of the support, guidance and counseling that they get from this environment. Physiological perspective of maternal mental changes after birth This perspective looks at the emotional changes that a mother goes through after childbirth and managing these changes so that they do not negatively affect her and the new born. These emotional changes cause depression if no attention and care is taken to reduce or stop them from occurring11. These emotional changes must take place in a mother after childbirth, just like they occur during pregnancy. They can be feelings of sadness, loneliness or anxiety that she feels towards the new born and the many responsibilities that comers along with the birth. This is why Psychiatrist advice that proper care is taken on the emotional changes on mothers after pregnancy so that they do not affect them. Some of the effects of these emotional changes on mothers include not taking care of the new born like lack of breast feeding. This will affect the growth of the child because it does not get the attention and acre that it requires from its mother. Mothers with mental disability and depression find it difficult to breastfeed their babies. This is because their bodies do not produce enough milk for the baby. This is mainly because of the hormonal changes that take place in the body of the new mother due to the transition from pregnancy period to motherhood. Hormones in women change during pregnancy and after pregnancy due to the changes taking place in their bodies12. It is because of these hormonal changes that emotional changes occur in mothers that create the feelings of anxiety and stress among many other such feelings. There are ways that mothers can deal with these emotional and psychological changes that they go through after pregnancy. It id for this reason that Psychiatrist advice that mothers should get emotional support from spouses or other family members in situations where they are not available. Another cause of emotional stress on mothers after pregnancy is lack of sleep. This leads to stress on the mental state of mothers which means that they cannot concentrate on taking care of the child according to the requirements. Therefore, they should get enough sleep so that they can concentrate on the day activities concerning the child. This reduces stress on the minds of mothers. Most mothers do not get enough sleep after delivery because they are overloaded with the responsibilities of the newborn. Lack of sleep for a mother after delivery leads to strain of their minds hence the emotional stress. Mothers should get some sleep and rest especially when the child is asleep to avoid stressing themselves. These mental disorders require special treatment and prevention so that they do not affect the mother and the baby. That is the reason why Psychiatrist advocates for guidance counseling by professionals for women after pregnancy. This is so that they get ways of handling the emotional changes. Nursing also helps in preventing and reducing the effect of these emotional changes in mothers after pregnancy13. Physiological problems that the mother might have gone through during the pregnancy period also affect the emotional changes after pregnancy. Therefore, mothers should avoid such stressing factors during pregnancy so that they reduce these risks after pregnancy. Therefore, mothers should seek medical advice when they feel that they are exhausted in their minds and after they experience some of these symptoms. This is so that they get guidance and counseling from the psychiatrists before the conditions get worse to need medication. Anthropological perceptive The anthropological perceptive analyzes pregnancy and childbirth according to various cultures in the world. They look at it as a ritual and process by which the society welcomes the new members14. The experience is mainly dependent on the political, cultural, economic and social setting. It further looks at the major issues associated with mortality all over the world and also the maternal health. In most cultures women who give birth have been subject to both the prohibitions and proscriptions of their activities with most of them appearing as rituals of a certain culture. In addition to this, prohibitions and proscriptions do persist in our society and are seen to take part in modern language and rituals of childbirth. These behaviors are clear to so many modern interpretations which protects both the mother and her growing infant from unnecessary malnutrition, infection, premature and emotional stress which are a result of most stressful activities which the mother may be involved in.  This mainly does not depend on the cultural and local attributions used to define these behaviors. The best part about all the given expectations is that they are seen to portray a protective and supportive structure15. This ensures that the child is brought up by the mother in such safe manner in the uterus and delivery process. The saddest part of it all is the guilt one has when the delivery process is complicated or the child develops a certain problem or dies during the delivery procedure.  This may cause the mother to blame herself on things she failed to do that she was required to do or even doing some of the things that she was never supposed to do. The maternal adverse outcome fault which is attributed to tendency of the science and the societies cause an increase in the self-blame16.  Most psychiatrists are very familiar with these situations. Especially when mothers tend to feel that they are the cause for some of the illnesses that their children have. This is because of the mixed feelings, overworking, alcohol and other bad habits during pregnancy. Bibliography Crowder, C & Stout, S. (2011): An anthropological perspective: CRC press: pp. 100-150. American psychological association. (2002): Psychological abstracts: American Psychological Association: pp. 50-70. Chall, L. P. 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(2008): Prenatal and postpartum mood disorders: perspectives and treatment guide for the health care practitioner: Springer publishing company: pp. 250- 310. Gennari, C. (2010): Close relationships and community psychology: an international perspective: Franco Angeli: pp. 200-250. Read More