Postnatal depression: causes, symptoms and treatment
As many as one in five women experience mental health issues after birth, with depression being one of the most common problems.
Depression in the postnatal period (the first year after a baby is born), is known as postnatal depression. It’s also sometimes referred to as postpartum depression.
It’s common to experience a wide range of emotions during the first year after the birth of a baby. Becoming a parent is one of the most significant life transitions that you'll experience; it can be the most rewarding thing you’ve ever done and yet also one of the most challenging. Sometimes you may feel happy and excited. At other times you may feel worried, anxious, overwhelmed or negative - all of which can be signs of postpartum depression. Postpartum depression doesn’t just affect new mums either; it’s possible for partners and men to experience it too.
Unfortunately, on some occasions, women, their families, and even health professionals don’t recognise that new mums have postnatal depression, which means that lots of women wait much longer than needed before having treatment. Some potential reasons for this include:
Anyone can be affected by mental health issues in the postnatal period, so you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help if you think you might be unwell.
Depression in the postpartum period shares many similarities with other types of depression. The main difference is that your anxious and negative thoughts, which are common in depression, are often focused on your new baby.
Also, some of the symptoms of postpartum depression overlap with some common post-birth symptoms.
Symptoms of postpartum depression include:
Following the birth of a baby, 50 to 80% of women also go through what's known as the ‘baby blues’. This usually starts within 3 to 4 days of giving birth and tends to resolve within 2 weeks.
Symptoms include:
The baby blues are thought to be mainly down to hormonal changes that are happening in the body. However, unlike postpartum depression, the baby blues usually resolves on its own without any treatment and doesn’t tend to affect your daily functioning.
If you find that you’re still experiencing the above symptoms for more than 2 weeks, it might be that you’re struggling with postnatal depression as opposed to the baby blues. If this is the case, it’s really important that you get help.
There isn’t a single cause for postpartum depression. There are lots of different biological, psychological, and social factors that can become a cause of depression in the postpartum period.
Some of the factors that are linked to postpartum depression include:
If you're struggling with low mood and symptoms of depression in the months after having a child, it's worth bearing in mind these few key strategies, thought processes, and principles that might help you to cope.
At Priory, we can provide specialist treatment for postnatal depression through our nationwide network of hospitals and wellbeing centres. We can also provide help for antenatal depression (depression during pregnancy).
Your mental health during pregnancy and after the birth of a baby is just as important as your physical health at these times. The right treatment will help you stay as well as possible and enjoy family life.
Depending on how severe your postnatal depression symptoms are, we can offer a number of different treatment programmes:
We can also offer lots of different therapy formats to help you with your postpartum depression. These include:
The main type of therapy that we use in postpartum depression treatment is a technique known as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). This helps you to change your negative thinking patterns, which are common in postnatal depression. During pregnancy or after birth, depression can mean that you lack confidence or judge yourself negatively as a parent. CBT aims to give you the techniques to challenge these thoughts and improve your mood. It can help you to feel more confident in being a parent and to enjoy your pregnancy, baby, and other children more.
Antidepressants can be used on their own or alongside CBT to treat antenatal and postnatal depression. If you have more severe depression, or if your depression hasn't improved with talking therapy, this may mean you need antidepressant medication.
There are lots of different types of antidepressant medication. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are most commonly used to treat depression in pregnancy and after birth. These help to restore the balance of chemicals in your brain that are known to regulate mood and emotions. You may have been taking antidepressants before you were pregnant, or you may need to start taking them during pregnancy or after birth.
Whatever the case, you should discuss the safety of antidepressants in pregnancy and breastfeeding with your doctor. Your doctor will help you to weigh up the benefits of this type of treatment in your individual case. If you're already taking antidepressant medication when you get pregnant, it’s important that you don’t stop taking this without getting professional advice first.
Depression following the birth of a baby can have a devastating impact on what can be a joyous time in your life. It’s important to remember that postpartum depression is entirely treatable, and with specialist help, you can recover and enjoy family life.