Experts: Watch for post-partum depression in new mothers
Published:Sunday | November 3, 2019 | 12:00 AMKaryl Walker - Gleaner Writer
Professor Wendel Abel, head of the Department of Community Health and Psychiatry at The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, is dismissing any notion that a specific facility is needed to treat women who suffer from post-partum depression.
The condition, also known as ‘Baby Blues’, is common among women who have given birth and results in mood swings and lack of sleep, but may develop into depression and even psychosis.
Speaking on the heels of reports that a second mother in a week dumped her baby in a pit latrine, Abel said what is needed is early detection and referral.
“You really don’t need a facility to treat it. It can be treated by any doctor. These are conditions that are easy to treat,” Abel told The Sunday Gleaner last week.
He called for health workers in postnatal clinics, and even family members, to look for signs of depression and irritability in mothers with newborns and refer them to The University Hospital of the West Indies psychiatric department or a private psychiatrist.
EARLY DETECTION
“The challenge is early detection. Postnatal centre staff should look for signs. Family members should look [to see] if she is irritable with the baby,” he said.
Last Thursday, the nation was thrown into shock when news broke of the discovery of a newborn infant in a pit latrine at Esson Castle, St Ann. This incident came a week after a similar case in Cox Piece, St Mary. The mother of the child was hospitalised after the incident and there were howls of condemnation of the act across social-media platforms and from the public in general.
But psychologist Dr Patrece Charles urged caution.
“Prison might not be the answer, but there are consequences to one’s actions. There are a number of reasons why a mother would take such drastic action,” Charles said, speaking generally.
“Hormonal changes can push her to post-partum depression. It could have been existing trauma because of rape or incest, which might result in resentment for the child and the father.”
She added: “What kind of culture has she been exposed to?”
Charles said some women are also driven to the edge on realising that they cannot care for the child due to their own harsh economic reality.
“She might be saying she can’t even care for herself, much less another human being, and think that’s the best way out. She may think she is doing it for the child’s sake and, in a strange way, thinks she loves the child so much the child shouldn’t exist,” she said.
Charles stressed that she was not making any excuses for women who commit the act.
“Some women know exactly what they are doing and think they are doing it in their own best interest,” she said.
Abel agreed.
“For some women, it’s an economic decision,” he said.