Awareness and Support for Postpartum Depression: Understanding the Impact and Treatment

2023-10-06 15:16:41

Postpartum depression affects 15% of women

The birth of a child can be difficult to manage and some young mothers can sometimes do the irreparable. Medication could help manage this period better.

PublishedOctober 6, 2023, 5:16 p.m.

Postpartum depression affects 15% of women. (Illustrative photo)

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Saturday October 7 will take place Mad Pride in Lausanne. A walk to raise awareness of mental illnesses and postpartum depression is one of them (DPP). The arrival of a child is often a sign of a happy event. Sometimes the reality is quite the opposite and the mother begins to suffer from PPD. One in eight women are affected by this depression and the leading cause of suicide in women during the first year after childbirth. And the figures would be almost the same for men, we can read on the site HUG.

PPD is the leading cause of death among young mothers, because it is often misdiagnosed or poorly expressed. This change in the couple’s life is important.

You have to differentiate between baby blues and perinatal depression. PPD can already manifest itself during pregnancy and in the year following childbirth, while the baby blues generally appear after birth and last a few days, time to adapt to the arrival of the baby.

Symptoms and mother-baby relationship

There is a taboo around PPD, so many parents will hide their discomfort. There are only 15% of women who consult for their PPD, we can read on the “RTS“. Because unlike the baby blues, PPD sets in and lasts over time.

Table taken from the book “Postnatal depression, breaking the silence”. N. Nanzer. Favre Edition 2009

HUG website screenshot

THE most recurring symptoms are: fatigue, anxiety and irritability. Lack of sleep and hypervigilance are important syndromes which will have repercussions on the child, reports “lepoint.fr“. Indeed, with PPD it becomes complicated for mothers to create a bond with their baby. Some develop impulse phobias, they imagine harming their child, describes lepoint.fr.

In all of this, babies sense their mother’s emotional distress. They have two ways to react, by crying more or by stopping crying. “A baby may show symptoms of postpartum depression. He feels his mother’s suffering. Some babies are said to be resuscitators because they cry more to try to wake their mothers. Conversely, others disconnect and cry little. They may also have picky eating habits and body hypotonia. Being attentive to the baby’s condition often provides valuable information about the mother’s health. “, explains Mathilde Bouychou, clinical psychologist and psychotherapist specializing in perinatal care at “lepoint.fr”.

A new treatment

Taking antidepressants and psychological monitoring are recommended treatments already in place for perinatal depression. But the big news is that the American Medicines Agency has authorized the sale of a tablet intended specifically for postpartum depression, we can read on “lepoint.fr”.

This medicine is a ‘zuranolone’ tablet to be taken daily for two weeks. A study has proven that taking this tablet directly targets the neurotransmitters regulating the symptoms of PPD (fear, anxiety, irritability, etc.)

In Switzerland, the postpartum association can help all parents and families who feel concerned by PPD. The link to their site can be found ici.