Postpartum Depression and Your Baby

In my quest to understand PPD a little bit more since I suffered with the illness when my son was born and as I update my blog each day, I try to find new articles that cannot only help me to understand PPD, but to help others. I still am amazed when I read articles like the one posted that often refers to the biggest sign of PPD as not “bonding’ with your baby. Since PPD has so many different forms I think most people stereotype PPD as this being one of the biggest factors. Even though I was not diagnosed with PPD until my son was 4 months old, I never had the feeling of not wanting to be around him.

I did breastfeed him until he was four months old, I took him everywhere with me and I played with him all day long. Even though I was not myself and did not feel right, I never let it effect him in anyway. I knew I was his mother and it was my job to take care of him, love him, and make sure nothing would ever happen to him. I know that a lot of mother’s experience PPD and that they do not want to take care of their baby or be around them, I just wanted to share my experience and show that there are so many different signs of PPD that you may have one or many different ones.

That was the point of writing my book and telling my story. I always thought PPD was “depression.” I thought it was associated with hurting your child (due to news coverage) and again, not wanting to take care of your baby. However, PPD has many differents signs and forms. If you do not feel like yourself and it lasts longer that a few days, please contact your doctor for help, before it does effect you and your baby more than it has to.

Again, other signs to be aware of: depression, anxiety, insomnia, not being able to eat, crying, and being unhappy among a few more.

Postpartum depression and your baby

http://www.consumerreports.org/health/conditions-and-treatments/postpartum-depression/what-will-happen/postpartum-depression-and-your-baby.htm

Having postpartum depression is not your fault. But if you have it, it’s important to get help, both for your own sake and you baby’s. That’s because this illness can stop you from bonding properly with your baby and may affect your baby’s development. But the faster you get better, the less likely your baby is to have problems.
Research has shown that babies of mothers with postpartum depression may: 1 2

Source:Murray L, Cooper PJ.The impact of postpartum depression on child development.International Review of Psychiatry. 1996; 8: 55-63.
Not bond as closely with their mothers as the babies of mothers who don’t have postpartum depression
Have behavior problems, including crying a lot, being withdrawn or being demanding.
We can’t say that postpartum depression causes these problems. It is just that researchers see these problems more in babies whose mothers have postpartum depression. But if depression makes it hard for a woman to interact with her baby, doctors think it could affect how the child develops. 2
Researchers have also found that if you are depressed, you are less likely to: 3
Keep breastfeeding your baby
Show books to your baby
Play with or talk to your baby
Follow routines.
How long your depression lasts seems to matter. Women who recover from their depression by the time their baby is 6 months old relate better to their baby than women whose depression lasts longer.
Source:Campbell SB, Cohn JF, Meyers T.Depression in first-time mothers: mother-infant interaction and depression chronicity.Developmental Psychology. 1995; 31: 349-357.
And there is some evidence that later problems in children are most likely when their mother has depression that lasts a long time or depression that comes back, rather than postpartum depression alone. 5
4
Treatment can help improve your relationship with your baby. And it may help with your baby’s development. 6
Sources for the information on this page:
Martins C, Gaffan EA.Effects of early maternal depression on patterns of infant-mother attachment: a meta-analytic investigation.Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and allied disciplines. 2000; 41: 737-746.
Murray L, Cooper PJ.The impact of postpartum depression on child development.International Review of Psychiatry. 1996; 8: 55-63.
McLearn KT, Minkovitz CS, Strobino DM, et al.Maternal Depressive Symptoms at 2 to 4 Months Post Partum and Early Parenting Practices.Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. 2006; 160: 279-284.
Campbell SB, Cohn JF, Meyers T.Depression in first-time mothers: mother-infant interaction and depression chronicity.Developmental Psychology. 1995; 31: 349-357.
Goodman JH.Postpartum depression beyond the early postpartum period.Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing. 2004; 33: 410-429.
Poobalan AS.Effects of treating postnatal depression on mother-infant interaction and child development: Systematic review.British Journal of Psychiatry. 2007; 191: 378-386.
This information was last updated on Mar 06, 2009
Source:Poobalan AS.Effects of treating postnatal depression on mother-infant interaction and child development: Systematic review.British Journal of Psychiatry. 2007; 191: 378-386.
Source:Goodman JH.Postpartum depression beyond the early postpartum period.Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing. 2004; 33: 410-429.
Source:McLearn KT, Minkovitz CS, Strobino DM, et al.Maternal Depressive Symptoms at 2 to 4 Months Post Partum and Early Parenting Practices.Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. 2006; 160: 279-284.
Source:Murray L, Cooper PJ.The impact of postpartum depression on child development.International Review of Psychiatry. 1996; 8: 55-63.
Source:Martins C, Gaffan EA.Effects of early maternal depression on patterns of infant-mother attachment: a meta-analytic investigation.Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and allied disciplines. 2000; 41: 737-746