Postpartum Care
POST PARTUM CARE After you've had your baby, you are most likely to be filled with joy and relief. When some of us think of postpartum, our minds automatically goes to the taboo subject, "postpartum depression". Postpartum depression ( PPD ), also called postnatal depression , is a type of clinical depression which can affect women after childbirth. Symptoms may include sadness, low energy, changes in sleeping and eating patterns, reduced desire for sex, crying episodes, anxiety, and irritability. While many women experience self-limited, mild symptoms postpartum, postpartum depression should be suspected when symptoms are severe and have lasted over two weeks. Many women recover with treatment such as a support group, counseling, or medication. Studies report prevalence rates among women from 5% to 25%, but methodological differences among the studies make the actual prevalence rate unclear. Among men, in particular new fathers, the incidence of postpartum depr