Secretary of the Association of Psychiatrists of T&T (APTT), Dr Varma Deyalsingh, says women who suffer from postpartum depression (PPD) can get over it if the symptoms are recognised early and they have a good family support system in place.
PPD, he said, was a feeling of depression in a woman after birth and it might occur soon after delivery, usually the first three months of delivery, and up to one year after delivery and occurs in 10 to 20 per cent of women.
Deyalsingh said symptoms of depression should be discussed with family members and family doctor to determine its severity and ways and means of managing it. He also said the risk of recurrence was higher following pregnancy.
Symptoms include tearfulness, feeling sad and hopeless, feeling restless and moody, difficulty in focusing and making decisions, feeling worthless and guilty, loss of interest or pleasure in activities you once enjoyed, withdrawing from family and friends, sleeping too little or too much, fatigue, change of appetite, suicidal thoughts, impaired concentration, feeling of inadequacy as a mother, negative thoughts of baby and fears of harming an infant. There are physical symptoms such as headaches, chest pain, palpitations and dizziness.
Deyalsingh said sometimes it was not recognised by the patient but by the partner or relative. He said a patient might feel ashamed or guilty about these feelings and the doctor should always forewarn the patient about PPD so the patient could approach the doctor with less anticipation.
He related a case where a mother had to be separated from her infant because she tried to harm him thinking the devil had impregnated her and she needed to rid the world of this creature.
The patient, he said, was employed as an accountant and had a promising career before childbirth. He said she never fully recovered and was now an out patient of St Ann’s Hospital.
Deyalsingh said her child was well taken care of by her family, who to this day cannot understand how their perfectly sane daughter, after giving birth, could turn into a “mental case.”