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Postnatal Depression

By Erick R. Williams, M.A., M.S.

Having a child is usually an occasion for great joy and celebration. After all, who can resist the sight of a newborn? Who doesn’t want to hold that little one in their own arms? But, there can be another side to this occasion that is not such a happy one for the mother. On occasion the mother may develop, after birth, a form of depression after known as postnatal depression.

The incidence of postnatal depression ranges from 12 to 15 percent with a slightly higher incidence among teenaged mothers. It is often of benefit to the mother to know that this is not a terribly unusual situation so that she feels less “special” in the sense of having this mental distress. We especially want to follow the depressed mother very carefully because of the occasional suicide ideation that can result from postnatal depression.

The symptoms of postnatal depression are similar to the symptoms for other depressions: negative (sad) mood, changes in appetite, poor concentration, inability to experience joy, sleep disturbance, poor concentration, and irritability. In addition to these symptoms the new mother may be experiencing guilt regarding her ability to care for her newborn. She may feel that she cannot do a good job, hasn’t done a good job so far, or is fearful that she cannot properly care for the child. Sometimes the new mother is simply insufficiently educated about childcare and child rearing.

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