LETTERS: Childbirth may be a natural event, but it's stressful.
Fifty to 80 per cent of mothers experience a short period of mild postpartum depression (PPD) after delivery and nearly 15 per cent will develop it in three months.
The symptoms include crying, mood swings, anxiety, sadness, difficulty in sleeping, difficulty in concentrating and irritability.
With PPD cases in developing countries being as high as 15 to 28 per cent, it is imperative that researchers and medical workers give more attention to this mental illness, given its huge impact on the growth of mothers, their spouses and children.
Dr Hashem Salarzadeh Jenatabadi of Universiti Malaya's Department of Science and Technology Studies and his team conducted a study to learn more about the factors influencing PPD, using the structural equation modelling analysis.
Most participants were 31 years or older, educated, had an income of more than RM3,000 per month with one to 10 years of working experience.
Twenty-six per cent did not do any physical activity, slept an average of seven to nine hours per day and worked eight to nine hours per day.
The study found that 20 per cent were normal, 25 per cent had a slightly increased risk of depression, 33 per cent had an increased risk of depression and 22 per cent were likely to suffer from depression.
Screening for depression during the perinatal period is important as some women may be afraid that their symptoms may be mislabelled as a mental disorder and refuse to seek help from a doctor even if they know that their mental condition is abnormal.
There are many ways to treat perinatal and postpartum depression. One treatment is psychological therapy (psychotherapy).
Most parturients with PPD are accompanied by anxiety symptoms. So it is vital that we use methods for treating anxiety and depression at the same time to improve mental health.
Studies show that psychological intervention as the most basic preventive method can reduce PPD.
Interpersonal psychotherapy and cognitive behavioural therapy can improve mild, moderate and severe perinatal depression, especially for pregnant and breastfeeding women.
They can read motivational books, visit friends, take care of children with family members, learn how to take care of the children while their children are sleeping, rest and take walks or perform other exercises according to their doctor's arrangements and guidance to ensure physical health.
The care of mothers and newborns during the perinatal period can ensure their physical and mental health, and promote the physical and mental health of mothers and babies.
Researchers are also beginning to pay attention to the role and participation of the spouse during the perinatal period.
These spouses can help their wives during the postpartum period.
Finally, there is drug therapy. Studies have found that the supplementation of oestrogen levels in patients with PPD can alleviate the symptoms of postpartum depression, reduce the score of the maternal depression scale and have a better clinical effect.
Above all, all parties must work together to provide the best care and treatment possible.
Depression is a mental illness with complex causes and symptoms, and postpartum depression is even more so with individual, social, biological, biochemical and other factors contributing to it.
The prevalence of postpartum women with depression symptoms in this study is high.
So it's imperative that postpartum women seek medical help.
QIAO YANG
Postgraduate candidate, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya
MICHAEL HOE
Research assistant, Institute of Research Management and Services, Universiti Malaya
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times