Why do women suffer from postpartum depression?

I think everyone has read a lot of news reports about "postpartum depression", and there are even cases where mothers committed suicide with their babies. In our grief, we can't help but wonder, the birth of a new life is such a joy, why do mothers fall into depression after giving birth? In fact, the so-called postpartum depression is also called postpartum depression, which is a special mental illness unique to women.

After giving birth, women are affected by various factors such as fluctuations in female hormones, changes in psychological state, and changes in psychological characteristics, which lead to mental and behavioral disorders. However, this kind of change may not be recognized by the family members, who may think that the pregnant woman is "making trouble". This feeling of misunderstanding by the family members becomes the last straw that breaks the camel's back, and is also one of the biggest contributing factors to postpartum depression.

According to clinical data, typical postpartum depression occurs within 6 weeks after giving birth and may last throughout the confinement period. Some even last until the child goes to school. Even if the postpartum depression is safely overcome, there is a 20% to 30% recurrence rate after the next pregnancy! Postpartum depression is so common, and it is usually directly related to the following five factors:

1. Your mood fluctuates greatly during pregnancy

If a pregnant woman encounters a relatively special event during pregnancy and is often in a state of emotional ups and downs, it is easy to cause postpartum depression. If there are obvious signs of depression during pregnancy, such as lack of joy about the arrival of the newborn, daily worry and anxiety, etc., these emotions will be aggravated after delivery, eventually leading to postpartum depression.

2. Women with overly nice temperaments

For working class women who pursue perfectionism and have high expectations of themselves, when they encounter difficult or insurmountable problems, they are usually reluctant to seek help from family or others. When you can't get back to work immediately after giving birth, and you can't quickly adapt to the role of a mother, when your husband or family members don't understand you and can't shoulder the responsibility of supporting each other, it's easy to cause depression.

3. Endocrine and growth hormone effects

Whether during pregnancy or after giving birth, a woman's endocrine system undergoes unprecedented changes. Especially after giving birth, the body's estrogen and progesterone levels drop significantly, which in turn affects the woman's mood. If she cannot adapt to the physiological changes in a short period of time, it may lead to the occurrence of postpartum depression.

4. Gap in psychological state

During pregnancy, women receive unlimited care and attention from their families. However, after giving birth, their families' focus shifts mainly to the newborn baby, and they cannot quickly adapt to the identity transition between pregnant woman and mother, which leads to huge psychological friction. Once there is poor integration, lack of understanding and recognition of the color, women will have certain different psychological states and work pressure, and postpartum depression will also come to them.

5. Influence of household factors

Family factors are one of the biggest causes of postpartum depression. If a pregnant woman lacks the support and attention of her parents or husband, and has been "raising the child like a widow" since giving birth, she is likely to suffer from postpartum depression. In addition, if the husband or mother-in-law has a very serious sense of male superiority and female inferiority, and the source of family experience comes from men, it is also easy to cause postpartum depression.

After giving birth, women need some time to adapt to their new identity. If they cannot get the understanding and support of their family at this time, it will undoubtedly cause great pressure and frustration to themselves. Therefore, for women who have just given birth, what they need is the care and understanding of their family members. At the same time, they should have a strong heart and adapt to their new identity as soon as possible to move towards a bright future with their children.