The Research
According to the research, “Between 50% and 80% of new mothers experience an episode of the “baby blues,”” [1] “The average prevalence rate of non-psychotic postpartum depression based on the results of a large number of studies is 13%.” [2] Some consider Postpartum Depression as mood issue that new moms are not happy, and they are tired. However, “Postpartum Depression is defined as the most recent episode of major depressive disorder (MDD) or of bipolar I or bipolar II disorder, if the episode has an onset within four weeks postpartum.” [1] New moms are having a time of heightened vulnerability to depressive mood changes in the months followed by delivery, and it can be twice as high as during other periods in a woman’s life.
The factors of having the hard time are because of the abrupt and dramatic changes occurring in hormone levels and other life-based causing as marital relationship, low social support, stressful life events and so on. In China specifically,
Of the 1126 participants, 524 (46.5%) lived only with their husbands, 387 (34.4%) lived with their parents-in-law, and 215 (19.1%) lived with their parents. Compared with those living only with their husbands, puerperal women living with their parents-in-law had higher risk of postpartum depression after adjustment for potential confounders. [3]
In addition, “living with parents-in-law may be a risk factor for postpartum depression among Chinese puerperal women. Future preventive interventions should include strategies that target the puerperal women who lived with parents-in-law.” [3]
The treatment for the Postpartum Depression are mainly two ways, controlled trials of psychological interventions and medication.
Controlled trials of psychological interventions have validated a variety of individual and group interventions. Medication often leads to depression improvement, but in controlled trials there are often no significant differences in outcomes between patients in the medication condition and those in placebo or active control conditions. [4]
Since some mothers are still breastfeeding, medication may not be their first choice and controlled trials are preferred.
“The prevention of Postpartum Depression is feasible and effective. It is necessary to integrate mental health screening into routine primary care for pregnant and postpartum women and to follow up this screening with treatment or referral and with follow-up care.” [4] Although it is hard to do in China, where the ratio of Doctor to Patient is small, it is doable for public cooperate with professionals and hospital.
Work Cited:
[1] Vliegen, Nicole PhD*; Casalin, Sara PhD*; Luyten, Patrick PhD The Course of Postpartum Depression, Harvard Review of Psychiatry: January/February 2014 - Volume 22 - Issue 1 - p 1-22doi: 10.1097/HRP.0000000000000013
[2] Victoria Hendrick, Lori L. Altshuler, Rita Suri, Hormonal Changes in the Postpartum and Implications for Postpartum Depression, Psychosomatics, Volume 39, Issue 2, 1998, Pages 93-101, ISSN 0033-3182, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0033-3182(98)71355-6.
[3] Yue-Yun Wang, Hui Li, You-Jie Wang, Hong Wang, Yan- Ru Zhang, Lin Gong, Jian Ma, Yan Wang, Ming-Zhen Wang, Shi-Xian Qiu, Shi-Xin Yuan, Living with parents or with parents-in-law and postpartum depression: A preliminary investigation in China, Journal of Affective Disorders, Volume 218, 2017, Pages 335-338, ISSN 0165-0327, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2017.04.052. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032716314756)
[4] Postpartum Depression: Current Status and Future Directions, Michael W. O'Hara and Jennifer E. McCabe, Annual Review of Clinical Psychology 2013 9:1, 379-407