Symptoms of Postpartum Depression
Symptoms of postpartum depression differ from one woman to another and often range from mild to severe. They include intense irritability coupled with anger, inability to sleep, or sleeping a lot, more than usual. Other signs are difficulty bonding with one’s baby and reduced interest in activities that a mother previously enjoyed. In certain instances, some women exhibit retreating from family and friends, excessive crying as well as recurrent depressed mood and or intense mood swings (Ghaedrahmati et al., 2017). Additionally, one may feel hopeless, worthless, and guilty, fear that she is not a good mother to her kid, or has less reduced capacity to think clearly.
Role of Cultural Factors in Postpartum
Cultural factors play a substantial role in postpartum depression. However, certain social aspects may be used to protect or lessen the condition’s severity among women. For instance, practices such as having a woman rest for some time while her extended family performs the roles. Assuming the responsibilities, including baby care and house chores, helps relieve symptoms of postpartum depression. Other traditions such as putting women indoors and on a specific prescriptive diet and routines for some time while resting and recuperating help immensely lessen the severity of postpartum depression.
Ways to Best Support Mothers for Optimal Mental Health
Women are possibly best supported through recognition of the vulnerabilities of new mothers and defined postpartum social structures. The traditional ways they receive assistance for optimal health vary, and some cultures have better methods than others. Cultures that do this well include Chinese and Taiwanese who strongly recommend a practice often referred to as ‘pei-yue.’ The mother is required to stay at home and exempted from all house tasks to allow her to recuperate for one month following childbirth. During this period, other relatives who come over to the household assume the chores (Fadzil et al., 2016). This is one of the practices that has been found to impact mothers’ post-childbirth experience significantly positively.
References
Fadzil, F, Shamsuddin, K., & Puteh, S. (2016). Traditional postpartum practices among Malaysian mothers: A review. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 22(7), 503-508. Web.
Ghaedrahmati, M., Kazemi, A., Kheirabadi, G., Ebrahimi, A., & Bahrami, M. (2017). Postpartum depression risk factors: A narrative review. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 6. Web.