This question does not have an easy answer. It concerns healthcare professionals, family members, friends, and mothers. Why? Women are more likely to be supported in societies with the highest level of support. Payed leave and automatic health and housework support after childbirth are two factors that significantly reduce the incidence (or severity) of PPD. Continue reading?

The Postpartum Disorder (PPD) and the Postpartum Affective Disorder (PPA) affect many women following childbirth. However, we only started talking about it a decade ago. Marie Osmond was very brave to speak about PPD on Oprah in the past 12 years. It shed some much needed light on this problem. PPD was not known as PPA until that moment. This topic was never brought up in polite conversation. The idea of a “happy baby and a happy mother” was what most of us believed. The image of a “happy motherhood and perfect baby” was the one we all carried around.

PPD is often referred to as a syndrome or disease.

1. Stress or depression? No normal physiological body process is more demanding than pregnancy and childbirth. In addition to a new born baby, many women also have a small child and a spouse at home. Newborns have many needs throughout the day. These babies require lots of contact with their mothers, as well as feeding and nursing. It’s likely that mom won’t sleep through. The mental effects of lack of rest are negative. Caregiving for a baby and a household can leave a mother exhausted. The mother is still recovering from her surgery if she has just had a cesarean section. Treatment of exhaustion is just as important for depression as it is for depression.

2. Depletion of nutrition: The entire baby’s organism is composed of nutrients provided by its mother. The placenta too is created by nutrients donated from mother’s bodies. The placenta extracts nutrients from mother’s body and provides them to the growing fetus. Nature has programmed the placenta to take nutrients from the mother’s bloodstream and give them to the developing fetus. Women can lose a significant amount of blood when giving birth. Blood is made out of nutrients so this depletes a woman’s nutritional reserves.

There is no doubt that certain deficiencies of nutrients, like DHA and EPA in fish oil (or other oils), can lead depression or mood swings. Also, a deficiency in certain B-vitamins can cause mood swings and depression. All postpartum woman can benefit from taking multiple vitamins and minerals, fish oils as well as calcium and magnesium supplements. Many doctors and health professionals recommend that mothers take prenatal supplements for a few months after their baby is born.

3. Community:In years past, when extended relatives lived in close proximity or together, new mothers could rest and recuperate for weeks while their needs were being met. Women in her extended family or close neighbors would help her prepare meals for the whole family. They also helped her soothe her fragile emotions as she recovered. Women no longer receive that type of support. In 1950s, women who gave birth rested and bonded with their infants in the maternity section for 2 weeks. Now she can be out of the maternity ward in just 48 hours.

There are thousands of sites created today by women who have been through postpartum and want to help new mothers. These communities are places where women come together to share their stories and fears. They also share the methods and treatments that worked for each other. You are not alone if you have a mother who has PPD, PPA or both. These sites provide information, community support and valuable information to mothers as well as their families.

4. Health OverviewAn overview of your health is vital when deciding if PPD or PPA is the cause. Tests such as thyroid, hormone, and adrenal stress tests can give the doctor information on how to treat a PPD- or PPA-suffering mother.

5. The use of drugs in intervention: Although we prefer natural treatments, we’ve always maintained that there are times when drugs can be helpful. Mothers who suffer from PPD/PPA may find that natural remedies do not give them the immediate relief they require. This is why medication can be very helpful in helping to overcome the hardest part of PPD/PPA. Women who have postpartum psychiasis are often medicated for their entire lives. No mother must suffer. If a mother is taking drug therapy to treat PPD or PPA then it should be done in conjunction with a holistic approach that includes nutrition, exercise, therapy, and vitamins.