Psychotherapy May Relieve Postpartum Depression
Online source: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/
By Joene Hendry
Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Symptoms of postpartum depression appear to be reduced by any psychosocial therapy, with women opting for this treatment doing better than those who try to struggle through with no treatment at all, findings of a study review suggest.
Many women experience mild, short-term depressive symptoms, or “baby blues,” shortly after delivery, while others - about 13 percent - develop more serious postpartum depression, according to lead author Dr. Cindy-Lee Dennis of the University of Toronto. Although antidepressant drugs can be effective in treating depression, about 50 percent of new mothers want to avoid taking drugs.
“Effective treatment other than medication is available, especially for those with moderate or minor depression or those who are breastfeeding,” Dennis told Reuters Health.
Dennis and colleagues reviewed the results of nine studies, including 956 women, to assess the efficacy of different types of non-pharmaceutical treatments on postpartum depression.
They found that any psychosocial or psychological counseling for postpartum depression, compared with the “usual” postpartum care (which meant different things in different studies) or no care, was associated with a reduced likelihood of continued depression for the first year after childbirth.
Their review is published in The Cochrane Library, a journal of medical research.
“Postpartum depression is most likely to develop within the first 12 weeks,” Dennis said, particularly in mothers without support from the baby’s father, a partner, family members, or other women with children.
New mothers experiencing more than 2 weeks of uncontrolled moods or emotions, tearfulness, anxiety, altered appetite or sleep independent of the infant’s schedule, diminished interest or pleasure in most activities, loss of concentration, or feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt, should seek counseling, Dennis notes.
All interventions in this review, except for one telephone-based intervention, were directed by health professionals, the investigators note. The various interventions involved face-to-face counseling such as counselor directed problem solving, cognitive behavioral therapy, outpatient mental health counseling and peer support.
Nonetheless, the investigators urge caution when interpreting the pooled data from their review due to the small number of trials involved and the lack of well-designed interventions.
In addition, the efficacy of these treatments over the long-term are unknown.
It is unlikely that a single treatment will be equally effective for all new mothers, the investigators conclude, and clear conclusions regarding specific interventions for postpartum depression requires further research.
SOURCE: The Cochrane Library, October 2007
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_56504.html
Graphic: www.babble.com
Filed under: CBT, antidepressants, anxiety, health, mental health, mental illness, postpartum depression, psychosocial therapy, worthlessness
What amazes me is how gestating and new mothers are often completely isolated socially during this event. The public in general has this idea that if you are pregnant or have a new baby you must be perpetually happy.
Mothers do not get enough support. Not stay at home moms, and not working moms and BTW, as the Feminists used to say: Every Mother is a Working Mother.
Women who dont have a good social support system end up alone during this special time, when they could use the help, the ear and the shoulder of a friend.
The hormones are what they are, and its not easy, even for people who dont get Post Pardum Depression. But when your “friends” disappear, and you are sleep deprived, new at the mom-job {which can be terrifying at times} and overworked, anyone would succumb to the blues, if not become depressed.
Its culture shock.
Its amazing how your hard won social status dissolves under your feet like sand as the tide comes in. And you find out that you hold no power, that your voice in the world has been silenced, when you need it the most to raise and protect your child.
Psychotherapy, yea thats good, Having friends that don’t jump ship the minute you push that baby out, though is better.
I suggest reading Misconceptions by Naomi Wolf.
Its eye opening.
Thank you for the suggestion, and you brought up some good points.
This is a rhetorical or FYI statement: If you have a friend that is a mom, especially a new mom, be there for them.
Dont assume that she wants to be alone and then disappear.
Go clean her house for her.
Do a couple loads of laundry.
Dont freak out, if she has a few crying fits on the phone {it takes a while for those hormones to work their way out of your system}
It used to be that women had extended families to help them through this time. Parents, grandparents, siblings, inlaws.
But now so many women do not have that. Everyone moves around, lives in different states or regions, works 40+ hours etc., Leaving new moms with no help, no companionship, no significant emotional support.
And the U.S isnt that Mom-friendly or kid friendly. People can be mean and dismissive and short with you, in public places, if your child cries, if you breastfeed, or are forced to change a diaper where they can see you. So many people do not understand at all, the necessities of child care. Some go so far as to make rude comments to you.
That you should just stay at home. {Home where no people are, no support, alone}
And if you are stay at home mom, your social status drops beneath Bag-Lady. People act as if, if you stay at home with your kids on purpose, that you must be stupid, and/or lazy. Its a terrible insult and its hurtful, and it doesnt encourage a mom to reach out and try to make friends. That hostility and derision can be very daunting.
I believe that in many cases the depression is brought on by outside influences. The Chemical imbalance follows after months of loneliness, chronic stress, sleep deprivation, and a lack of intellectual stimulation, and then of course covert and overt social rejection.
I love my kids, but I felt totally abandoned after I had them. I have no close friends anymore. And the timing mostly coincides with the birth of my children.
I dont blame my kids for that. It’s lonely just the same though. There are other factors, but this is a big one.
Thanks once again for your comments.