My baby, who was born at normal term via cesarean section, was taken to intensive care due to infection when it was understood that there was an abnormality in his breathing a few hours after birth. Even though I had not yet recovered from the surgery, I waited at the door of the intensive care unit with pain and anxiety for about two weeks. I was trying to breastfeed my daughter every day, but she was refusing to breastfeed. I started to think that this was a punishment because the first moment I learned that I was pregnant, I told my husband that I thought I was not ready yet and that I did not want this pregnancy. He agreed with me, but we warmed up to the idea of having a baby in a few days. We wanted it more than anything. While I was waiting for my baby to leave the hospital, I was consumed with feelings of guilt and could not escape the pessimism. My mother and mother-in-law played a big role in this. Everyone was blaming each other for the baby's health. They felt sorry for themselves and were trying to do something, but they were not very interested in what happened to me. I couldn't fall asleep at night. I felt tired and lost my appetite. I was losing weight and my milk supply was decreasing. Despite intense insistence on me eating, I could not eat and was blamed for my lack of milk. Finally, I took my baby out of intensive care, but he had stopped breastfeeding completely.
This process, which I described as my "depressive period", lasted exactly two months. Even though both my wife and other people around me say that postpartum can be like this and that what happens is normal, I now know. I experienced postpartum depression, I know it…
Postpartum depression is also known as puerperal depression. It is an episode of depression that occurs within the first four weeks after birth, and the first year is considered a high-risk period for postpartum depression. While there is a loss of functionality due to the presence of depression symptoms in the mother, this loss can be attributed to the birth itself and the change in lifestyle brought by the baby, and the diagnosis of depression may be delayed or missed. Weakness, fatigue, difficulty in concentration, sleep problems, loss of appetite, increase in anxiety level, loss of interest and desire for the surroundings, decrease in self-care, ideas of worthlessness, guilt and pessimism dominate the picture. The care that the mother gives to the baby depends on the process She becomes worried.
Just as the mother has difficulty in caring for herself, she also has difficulty in caring for the baby. The baby's sucking may become impaired and he/she may refuse to breastfeed. There are several risk factors for postpartum depression. Depression during pregnancy and the intensity of psychosocial stress factors, psychiatric disorders before pregnancy, lack of social support, unwanted pregnancy, mother's alcohol or cigarette use, economic problems, mother's chronic physical illness and therefore having to use medication constantly. It is also known that factors such as the working mother's obligation to return to work early increases the risk of postpartum depression. Although it is called postpartum depression, it is an important predictor of how healthy the pregnancy is physically and psychologically. The risk of postpartum depression is low in mothers who receive adequate support from their husbands and family during pregnancy and who pay attention to their nutrition and sleep patterns. It is important to recognize postpartum depression because missing depressive symptoms affects the physical and mental health of the mother and the baby. A clinical picture emerges such as weight loss in the mother and the baby, sleep disorders, impaired sucking of the baby, colicky abdominal pain in the baby, and intense anxiety of the mother about whether she will be able to provide adequate care to the baby. The important thing is not to interpret the presence of these symptoms as the natural course of being a mother and to consult a psychiatrist. Postpartum depression is a treatable disorder. It is important to remember that if left untreated, the risk of depression after the next birth will increase.
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