By: Samuel Pimping
March marks Women’s History Month, an annual tradition commemorating women’s contributions to society. Just as we celebrate iconic victories, we must also pay heed to the lesser-known afflictions that apply to the woman in everyone’s life—our mothers. What is postpartum depression?
Postpartum depression (PPD) is an enduring psychological condition that affects some parents after giving birth to their little ones. Many of those who have experienced childbirth refer to what is colloquially known as the baby blues, and this is characterized by mood swings, anxiety, and insomnia lasting for a few days or weeks. Typically, parents with the baby blues become all right by the end of the second week. This is different from PPD, a mental disorder that manifests as a severe form of depression that persists for extended periods.
Those with PPD may experience symptoms of baby blues to a more intense degree, including despair, fatigue, crying spells, suicidal thoughts, a withdrawn affect, and appetite irregularities. The severity typically impairs their ability to properly care for their children. Difficulty in bonding and the absence of love or care for their infant are strong indicators of the condition and its negative impact on the family.
The gravity of the emotions held may be categorized into three degrees: postpartum blues, postpartum depression, and the most life-threatening, postpartum psychosis. The last one generally develops within the first week post-delivery, and exhibits extreme symptoms such as hallucinations, paranoia, obsession, erratic behavior, and the tendency to harm themself or their baby.
What are the causes and risk factors of postpartum depression?
The exact causes of the disorder are not known with certainty. But they may be a combination of possibilities including genetics, hormonal shifts after childbirth, social elements, and emotional instability. These are distinct from the risk factors that make certain individuals more vulnerable to having PPD.
Who is at greater risk of PPD? A history of depression either in the individual or their family, a problematic marital relationship, domestic violence, and financial incapacity are a few factors that can make a parent more susceptible to such a mood disorder. It should be noted that fathers can be affected by PPD as well. In fact, the illness has recently been gaining more awareness as a genderless ailment as fathers can experience the same symptoms that their partners may tolerate.
How has postpartum depression affected lives?
Approximately one in seven women develop PPD. Despite it apparently being a common phenomenon among many parents, mental stigma still surrounds the subject. It is difficult to come to terms with the condition, and many of those affected do not readily disclose the complications in fear of being judged.
In one case study, a woman under thirty experienced PPD after giving birth to a healthy child. Over the course of two months, she constantly felt exhausted, sad, guilty, and unvalued—forcing herself to eat despite her lack of appetite and feeling unable to freely share her feelings.
Depression is an illness that can affect anyone regardless of social status. Prominent individuals such as Princess Diana have developed severe PPD once in their lives. She recounted personal experiences of self-harm by “hurting her arms and legs.” The princess felt that she received no support from the community, and this aggravated her condition. The inability to cope with pressure and themes of despair can force anyone to resort to destructive alternatives.
On the more extreme end, postpartum psychosis (PPP) affects only 0.1% to 0.2% of births but can be devastating when neglected. Lindsay Clancy previously suffered from PPD. In 2023, she was charged with killing her three young children before attempting suicide, a tragedy that has highlighted PPP as the probable cause. There have been cases in the past where subjects are deemed not guilty by reason of insanity from PPP. Her partner has urged the public to forgive Lindsay while she is being administered proper medical care, describing her as a caring and loving woman before everything had changed
When should a parent seek treatment?
While someone feeling the baby blues can generally pull through with the support of loved ones, PPD may also require the assistance of healthcare or mental health providers. If the signs of depression do not abate after two weeks, the ability to take care of oneself or others is impaired, or a wave of harmful thoughts becomes irresistible, then it is best to seek healthcare intervention. Self-harm thoughts or tendencies call for immediate help regardless of the time frame. Suicide hotlines such as Hopeline are available 24/7, offering both free online chat and call services.
Nonetheless, the environment at home and familial support is essential to managing the disorder. Reaching out to one’s partner, family, friends, counselors, or even anyone in the community should be the first step in tiding through the challenges posed by PPD. In some cases, an ideal combination of antidepressants and psychotherapy would be recommended as a way of addressing it.
Most of the time, the ones seeking treatment are the partners or family of those with the affliction. This is because those with PPD generally have difficulty in admitting or recognizing that they have a form of depression in the first place. Therefore, the loved ones of those with PPD play a key role in ensuring that proper care is administered. PPD generally lasts weeks to months, but it can even persist for years when left untreated. The mental disorder negatively affects the entire family, particularly the subject’s partner
and child. The risk of depression also rises for the people they live with and hold closest to their lives. If a parent has had PPD or any form of depression prior to childbirth, then it is best to address the situation before it even starts by seeking pre-emptive treatment in the form of therapy or antidepressants (after duly consulting one’s healthcare provider).
How is postpartum depression managed in the Philippines?
A 2020 study on the predictors of PPD was conducted in rural areas in the Philippines. The results indicate that PPD treatment is not regularly provided by nurses and doctors within rural areas in the Philippines, and it found that the two primary factors influencing the disorder are work and marital relationship. It called for the intensification of government programs in relation to services addressing the mental condition given the lack of current measures.
There is no law, act, or regulation within the country specifically tackling the detection, prevention, and mitigation of PPD. However, attempts have been made to pass it into law in the past. Senate Bill 749 or the Postpartum Depression Research Act of 2007 envisioned the establishment of research and public information campaigns in the battle to eradicate the social stigma surrounding depression and mental illness. The bill recognized the complexity of PPD and its highly treatable nature when prompt diagnosis and the proper regimen of care are accessible.
Alas, the bill was never passed into law. It is no secret that the Philippines has neglected mental health awareness and treatment programs for the longest time. PPD is one of many mental conditions that need to be given more attention to, and the inexistence of substantial administrative efforts to make it a reality is a harsh indicator of disregard. Nevertheless, the struggle for awareness and better governance marches on. As women and many advocates have demonstrated in the past, consistency is the most crucial quality in any campaign—sometimes even taking decades to bear fruit and transform society.
