What is the difference between baby blues and postpartum depression?

Akanksha Pandey, Consultant clinical psychologists, Fortis Hospital, Rajajinagar tells us how to differentiate one from the other.

Debjani Arora | Published: May 18, 2018 12:37 pm

Most people confuse one with the other. But baby blues and postpartum depression are not the same; even though they might exhibit symptoms that are similar to each other. It is difficult for a layperson to understand that after delivery mothers can go into a depressive mode and suffer from baby blues. Since motherhood and childbirth are always talked about with great zeal and positivity some people fail to believe that a mother can experience feelings other than joy and bliss and remain suspended in a negative and gloomy spell for days. Here are seven things about postpartum depression that nobody taught me.

But keep in mind pregnancy is a hormonal rollercoaster ride; the days following childbirth are nothing different. The hormones still are at their notorious best postpartum. This is why some mothers can feel low, fatigued and suffers from mild depression post childbirth. While this condition is not addressed on a large scale but every new mother suffers from baby blues or postpartum blues, the intensity or severity of which can differ from one to the other. Here is a mother’s story on how she dealt with her postpartum depression.

There are various reasons why a mother suffers from postpartum blues or baby blues – hormones, fatigue, stress and strains of pregnancy and childbirth, demands of the new baby and getting along with the new body which is still lethargic to bounce back to its pre-pregnancy — all of this can trigger mood swings and depression. For some this phase fades on its own but others might need help to overcome the blues. However, when baby blues last for more than a fortnight it could turn into postpartum depression.

Here Akanksha Pandey, Consultant clinical psychologists, Fortis Hospital, Rajajinagar tells us how to differentiate one from the other.

‘Pregnancy and lactation are critical periods in a woman’s life. Depression may occur for the first time in a woman during postpartum period or may be a recurrence or a relapse. Postpartum blues (PPB) or baby blues are relatively a common phenomenon, occurring in 50 to 80 percent of women. PPB usually starts after the third postpartum day, typically peak by fourth or fifth day and spontaneously remits within two weeks of delivery. PPB is a constellation of transient symptom mainly characterized by rapid mood shifts such as tearfulness, irritability, anxiety, insomnia, lack of energy, loss of appetite,’ she says. Here are things a new mother will never tell you but hopes you secretly understand.

She further adds, ‘However, 20 to 25 percent of women may continue experiencing more severe symptoms which may persist for more than two weeks. This condition is classified as postpartum depression (PPD). It is equivalent to major depression that occurs within four weeks of postpartum. The symptoms include depressed mood, frequent crying spells, feelings of inadequacy and guilt, irritability, inability to cope, unusual fatigue, lack of interest in pleasurable activities, decreased sexual interest, sleep and appetite disturbances.’

Postpartum blues are transient in nature whereas postpartum depression lasts longer with more severe symptoms which require immediate clinical attention. If the symptoms of postpartum depression are not addressed in time it can hamper mother-baby bonding, both maternal and infantile health and could also lead to psychosis where the mother has thoughts to harm the baby or self.

Here the onus is on the caregivers – family, friends and the spouse – to recognise the signs of postpartum depression and help the mother get the right kind of support and help to avoid it to lead to psychosis.

Image source: Shutterstock

Published: May 18, 2018 12:37 pm

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