Peldon with her son
Postpartum Depression (PPD) is one of the forms of depression. While there is no official statistics, health officials say about 10 to 15 per cent of the child bearing women in the country are likely to experience post natal depression after childbirth.
Also called post natal depression, it is a type of mood disorder associated with childbirth that affects both women and men alike but occurs more commonly in women.
Twenty seven-year-old Peldon knows what it is like to be hit by postpartum depression. Three months after the birth of her first child, Peldon found herself battling the disease. “I would suddenly feel extremely sad and also had problems sleeping,” shared Peldon.
“It would get better in the mornings but the same sad feeling would overwhelm me again in the afternoons. I didn’t feel like staying home, all sorts of negative thoughts would come and it felt like I was going to die the next day. Sometimes, I would find myself crying as I stare at my baby.”
Not knowing what was happening to her, Peldon, one day, decided to look up on the net. That’s when she learned she was suffering from the symptoms of post natal depression.
“I came to know it happens to many women and that made me feel better,” said Peldon. “On the internet, I read stories about women in other countries struggling with postpartum depression. The self awareness and realisation that I was going through the same helped me control my mind.”
Apart from extreme sadness and sleep disorder, other symptoms include low energy, anxiety, eating disorder and crying episodes. Doctors say the illness can manifest in various forms.
In some, it can be mild and moderate and goes away without treatment. But in other cases, it can be severe, which can lead to other serious forms of depression.
Many in the country do not know about postpartum depression. So, the mothers end up not knowing they are suffering from it, let alone seeking medical help.
“Generally, there is a lack of awareness about depression and more so about postnatal depression,” said Dr. Chencho Dorji a Psychiatrist, with the national referral hospital. “Our people cannot really understand that women after child birth are vulnerable to or are at higher risk of getting depressed. They know that women are compromised to the large extent physiologically but they are less aware of the emotional vulnerability of women after child birth.”
Severe cases of postpartum depression, if not treated, can also negatively affect the growth and development of children. Though rare, Dr Chencho Dorji said in extreme cases, mothers can feel suicidal.
“Sometimes, if the depression is too severe and the mother thinks that the child is a burden to her and to the family or she herself is a burden to the family, that everybody has to help them and they are becoming very helpless and dependent,” said the doctor.
This, Dr. Chencho said, can make the women feel guilty and prompt her to think about killing herself as well as the child.
Globally, 13 per cent of the women experience postpartum depression. It is more common in developing countries with almost 20 per cent of women affected by it.
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