Postpartum Depression Case Study

1587 Words4 Pages

Manifestation and clinical diagnosis of postpartum depression The common symptoms include mood swings, mild elation, tearfulness, irritability, fatigue, and confusion (Pearlstein 2009). As a clinical diagnosis a study proposes the diagnostic criteria for a Major Depressive Episode (MDE) which verify a constant depression for a period of 2 weeks or anhedonia, also 4 of the following aspects need to happen such as change in appetite, sleep problems, psychomotor agitation or retardation, feelings of being important and useless, low focusing, and considerations of suicide (Fitelson 2011). Screening for depression in the perinatal period which is a way to detect early a depressed mother is important to be detected, so depressed mother can receive …show more content…

This condition is a worldwide concern since it does not only affect the mother but also affect the child development and the family. Screening and interviews should be performed to identify women who are a high risk and therefore they will receive early interventions to prevent postpartum depression. Some studies have showed the relation of postpartum depression with the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin. Although, they are still being studied about their effect. For dopamine one study examines the decrease of dopamine during postpartum depression which it affect the attachment between the mother and the baby. In the case of serotonin which keeps our mood, so studies shows that the deficit of serotonin may lead to depression. Threfore,exist some studies that use mices to find the differences in level of serotonin between virgin mices versus lactating mices, which they found a differences in levels. Therefore, they suggest that mothers should receive treatment during lactation. Some studies mention that mothers who suffer from postpartum depression are in a high risk to commit suicide. Many mothers do not seek for help because they are not well informed about this condition. After child birth, mothers should be screened for postpartum depression, therefore they will receive an early treatment. Mothers should receive surveys to detect who are a high risk of postpartum depression. Also, many factors affect mothers that may lead to the postpartum depression which include age, socioeconomic status, race, marital status, and previous history of depression. The interventions for high risk women includes psychological and psychosocial, and psychopharmacological. Also, treatments include psychotherapy, antidepressant medications and alternatives options with estradiol. In the case of psychopharmacological there are limited evidences of its

Open Document