The responsibilities of being a parent after giving birth, anxiety about childcare, and juggling household chores can leave you mentally and physically exhausted. Postpartum depression is a type of depression that causes you to feel depressed and irritable. In addition to these psychological symptoms, physical symptoms such as headaches and insomnia may also appear.
Postpartum depression requires caution, as symptoms can become severe in a relatively short period of time.
In this article, we will discuss each possible cause of postpartum depression.
Causes of postpartum depression
- Cause 1: Anxiety about childcare
- Cause 2: Chronic lack of sleep and fatigue
- Cause 3: Lack of understanding and support from family
- Cause 4: Change of state of mind after becoming a mother
- Cause 5: Stress from surroundings
- Cause 6: Past experience of depression
Postpartum depression can be caused by just one thing. People with multiple causes need to be especially careful.
Cause 1: Anxiety about childcare
Raising a child takes up a lot of the mental part of it all. I have to take care of various things like feeding, bathing, etc., as well as educating the infant as it grows and doing housework. You will be overwhelmed with tasks.Cause 2: Chronic lack of sleep and fatigue
After birth, infants should be fed every 2 to 3 hours until they are about 3 months old. Therefore, it becomes difficult to secure enough sleep and rest time after giving birth. Physical fatigue tends to amplify mental illness, leaving you exhausted both physically and mentally.Cause 3: Lack of understanding and support from family
Raising children is exhausting and leads to stress. A characteristic feature of these women is that they fall into the depths of postpartum depression because they are in an environment where it is difficult for those around them to understand them. Even if you confide your painful feelings to your parents or husband, they won't understand and this will lead to stress, and you will gradually become depressed without realizing that your fatigue is accumulating.Cause 4: Change of state of mind after becoming a mother
After giving birth, some people may not be able to keep up with the changes in their state of mind as they become mothers.I have to take on the role of ``mother,'' which is different from what I was used to. Until you get used to it, you may feel stressed about not being able to live your life as usual. Women are often alone with their infants during the day, and feelings of isolation and loneliness from society may lead to postpartum depression.
Cause 5: Stress from surroundings
After giving birth, mothers struggle to take care of their infants. Therefore, if people around you disrupt your pace or say inconsiderate words to you, you will feel more stressed than usual. It seems that even people close to you, such as your husband or parents, can make you close your heart.Cause 6: Past experience of depression
If you have had depression before or during pregnancy, you are more likely to develop postpartum depression.If you have a history of depression, let your doctor or midwife know in advance so that they can come up with countermeasures.