Word: postpartum
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...doleful litany goes on and on. What can possibly explain such horrific acts? Increasingly, doctors and psychiatrists are pointing to temporary mental breakdown in the months after giving birth, postpartum disorders that can range from mild depression to full-blown psychosis. Medical experts have long known that though the year after the birth of a child may be one of the most joyful times in a woman's life, it is also among the most stressful. Between 50% and 80% of new mothers experience an emotional letdown, known as the "baby blues," and become sensitive, moody and tearful. Such feelings...
...Postpartum mental disorders are so far poorly understood. Psychiatrists debate whether they are distinct forms of depression or psychosis. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (III), the profession's bible, does not list postpartum problems separately. No one is exactly sure what causes these mental conditions, but both physical and psychological explanations have been suggested. "A woman is undergoing a tremendous hormonal upheaval around the time of childbirth," says Nancy Reame, a women's health researcher at the University of Michigan. During pregnancy, estrogen and progesterone increase a thousandfold, then abruptly drop to normal or sometimes below normal...
Medical treatment for the entire gamut of postpartum disorders, from depression to psychotic episodes, has become quite effective. It may include medication, hospitalization, electroconvulsive therapy and counseling. Some women, including those who have experienced problem pregnancies or have a family history of mental illness, are thought to be at higher risk of developing postpartum trouble. Preventive injections of progesterone ; immediately after birth may be suggested for women who have suffered from depression after a previous birth...
...Both are very strong babies, with sturdy legs," says Ashford. "It would be nice to see them both running." Till then, the mothers will take care of that. Ashford, competing at Eugene in her fifth sprint since returning to the track last February, finished third and posted her best postpartum time. Slaney ran a mile a few days after Ashley's birth, and "expects to be back in shape in a couple of months." Set your stopwatches, and not just to time the baby formula...
...most women lapse into some sort of melancholy. Though no one knows precisely what causes post-partum depression, most theories focus on medical factors or psychological ones. British Sociologist Ann Oakley, after a five-year study of 55 first-time mothers in a London hospital, has a different idea: postpartum depression is mostly caused by society...