Postpartum Psychosomatics. Blues, Depression, Psychosis

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

Young mothers who experience a blues after the birth of their child have probably read a lot from the Internet about postpartum depression, its symptoms and what needs to be done to return the joy of life and enjoy motherhood "like normal mothers." Speaking about the psychological factors of psychosomatic disorders, we most often discuss the issues of psychological trauma, family scenarios, destructive attitudes and unjustified expectations of mom and dad (wife and husband) from each other and from the child. In addition, many mothers, consciously preparing for such an important event in their life - the birth of a baby, study various literature about pregnancy, childbirth, the postpartum period, about child psychology and parenting theories, about family psychology and about the role and importance of dads in the process "before, during and after”, etc. And for the most part, what happens is exactly what should happen, tk. everything in this world is unique and individual - everything happens not at all as it was written in books, and it is impossible to apply what is written. Of course, the experience of grandmothers is often at odds with the modern basics of motherhood and also causes conflicts in this area, which leads to misunderstandings and a lack of help and, most importantly, support. But a lot has been written about this, so you can develop these topics in other articles. In this note, I will not write about the importance of a competent organization of life and the involvement of a husband and other loved ones, to help get rid of the postpartum blues. I will write about those aspects of postpartum disorders that are not so obvious, but are essential so that blues do not develop into depression, and depression into psychosis.

To begin with, I want to remind you that a depressed mood does not mean that a person is experiencing depression. The postpartum state of mental exhaustion and imbalance has been studied and described by different authors in different ways, but at the moment, we can conditionally distinguish 3 levels of complexity of this process - postpartum blues, postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis.

Postpartum blues

As we already know, during pregnancy, childbirth and lactation, very complex biochemical changes occur in a woman's body. But it is during childbirth that the body experiences the effect of a "hormonal explosion" associated with both the launch of natural mechanisms and the artificial stimulation of the birth process. In order for the body to restore hormonal balance on its own, a woman needs time, each his own, depending both on the differences in physiology and on the course of the process of pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period.

During this time, some women feel empty, depressed, and report mild insomnia, irritability, mood swings, and tearfulness. This is the very postpartum blues that most women who have given birth experience. It manifests itself most acutely 3-4 days after childbirth and lasts up to 2 weeks.

All that mom needs during this period:

- a balanced diet (since the food we eat is chemical elements that help our body recover, read the brain);

- physical rest and healthy sleep (which, against the background of exhaustion, the mother begins to sorely miss, even if the child sleeps most of the time);

- moral and psychological support of loved ones (since in most cases after childbirth everything starts to happen not as expected, the mother loses confidence in herself in the future, etc.)

- informational support about the organization of breastfeeding (when mothers do not know that milk does not come immediately after childbirth and begin to feed with mixtures; express milk without indications; incorrectly apply the baby, etc. - this affects the formation of lactation, and, accordingly, the hormonal background).

Postpartum depression

When we note that time passes, the mother is physically recovering, and her psychological state not only does not improve, but worsens, this is a reason to seek medical advice. Most often in the period of postpartum depression, women emit an increase in the same blues. They begin to cry about and without reason, lose interest in daily activities, their interests and the child, do not feel positive feelings for the baby. At the same time, they can fuss a lot and uselessly, sleep poorly (even when there is an opportunity to sleep) and eat. In more difficult cases, they are angry with the baby and may even shout at him, shake or spank him (this is dangerous!).

Quite often the psyche of a woman tries to defend herself against those “unacceptable” feelings towards the child. Outwardly, the mother can behave "correctly", despite the difficult experiences of caring for the child, playing with him and controlling her aggression towards the baby, but the mother begins to develop psychosomatic disorders or diseases in the form of:

- OCD - obsessive-compulsive disorder (painful cleaning, irrational checking of locks on a window, door, gas handles, etc.);

- anxiety disorder (obsessive anxiety that something may happen to the mother or the child, which prevents him from functioning normally), etc.;

- gynecological diseases and sexual disorders;

- headaches, migraines;

- diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and skin diseases, including in the baby.

In this case, it is important to understand that the problem of postpartum depression is not a “bad mood” problem. First of all, these are difficulties with the restoration of the physiological functions of the body, which are exacerbated by psychological problems. Therefore, depression can develop slowly and drag on for a long time. Only a complimentary approach (medicine + psychology) can give a meaningful result and prevent complications. After all, working with a psychologist does not affect the failure of the hormonal background, which is provoked by childbirth (including by caesarean section), and the work of medications does not affect the environment and psychological problems of the mother, which arose as a result of unjustified expectations from the birth of a child, and being an additional stress factor, only exacerbate the problem of hormonal imbalance. So the circle closes, and in order to open it, the doctor helps at the physiological level (to give a command to the brain how to balance the hormonal background), and the psychologist-psychotherapist at the cognitive-behavioral level (to explain the essence of what is happening, find the connection of psychosomatic problems, change the attitude and correct the destructive behavior).

"Minor" complications in childbirth, special children and somatized depression

One of the most difficult types of depression affects mothers whose children were born with one or another deviation or violation of the birth process. In addition to the general hormonal disruption, the mother can experience trauma during childbirth, which adds to the problems in recovery, both physical and psychological processes. And the news of a child's health problems (no matter how severe they are, ranging from squeezing, hypoxia or lack / restoration of breathing, ending with genetic pathology or death) cause additional stress, which is doubly difficult for the body to cope with. But as in the process of natural grief that accompanies the birth of a child with certain features, the mother's psyche can include protection - a large number of opiates are produced that dull perception. However, soon, the stage of shock and denial ends, opiates cease to be produced in such quantities, the realization of BUT mother comes, “must be strong” and she begins to displace and suppress her negative experiences. Her relatives "help" her in this - do not cry, do not grieve, be strong, etc. And as a result, suppressed emotions lead to various kinds of psychosomatic disorders and diseases, up to benign neoplasms and beyond. This is already a slightly different topic, raising a special child, but in this case, it is important for relatives to understand that the mother should burn off her loss, whatever it may be (from the real loss of a child to the loss of her world and the future that she dreamed of). If relatives cannot support such a mother, it is imperative to turn to specialists, such experiences do not go away if they are simply ignored and "consoled with sentences that everything will be fine."

Postpartum psychosis

Without correction with medications or herbs allowed for the mother during lactation and without revising her attitudes and behavior correction, the condition can develop into postpartum psychosis. This condition is treated in a hospital, under the supervision of medical personnel, since it poses a threat to the life of the mother and / or child.

Preconditions for the development of psychosis may be complicated childbirth, not diagnosed earlier (before childbirth) in the mother of bipolar disorder or depression. Heredity also plays an important role, and for women in whose family there are cases of depression, MDP (manic depressive psychosis) or schizophrenia, it is important to be especially attentive to their well-being.

Symptoms of this disease, which usually appear in the first 3-4 weeks after childbirth, include:

- serious sleep disturbances;

- a sharp change in mood, strange behavior, inadequate self-esteem;

- excessive activity, fussiness;

- a feeling of alienation from the child and other close people;

- hallucinations (more often smells that no one hears, sounds, visual images);

- delusional thoughts or ideas not related to reality.

In this case, the sooner the couple see a doctor, the better. A psychologist-psychotherapist during this period will not help mom much, he can only explain to relatives what is happening and help dad with information about caring for a child, about the psychophysiological needs of his age, which need to be supported and ensured while mom is undergoing treatment.