This month's feature article:

Help for the Baby Blues – Do you suffer from postpartum depression?

Amanda felt like running away. The birth of her third child had left her feeling sad, angry, and overwhelmed. She was still feeling anger about the birth, which didn’t happen the way she had hoped and was actually quite traumatic. She felt as though she was ‘stuck’ in the emotional state she had been in during the birth and couldn’t move on. At the same time, she was keeping her feelings inside, hiding in her room to cry and feeling ashamed that she couldn’t cope.

Amanda was suffering from post partum depression. While many women go through a normal period of ‘baby blues’ and then recover, some women develop postpartum depression, which can occur up to 6 months after childbirth. Seek help if you have symptoms such as:

Many women are concerned about taking antidepressants for milder forms of depression while they are breastfeeding.  It is good to know that there are other options; both ‘talk therapy’ and homeopathy can be of enormous help in situations like Amanda’s.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some urgent situations that call for medication, such as the very rare post-partum psychosis in which a woman loses touch with reality and poses a threat to herself and her baby. However, there is some cause for concern that anti-depressants are being over prescribed, ignoring the social and physical demands of new motherhood.

Women are bombarded with images of the perfect mother blissfully happy with her new baby. The reality is that sleep deprivation, hormonal rebalancing, breastfeeding difficulties and social isolation pose challenges for every woman.

Add to this any financial concerns, marriage difficulties, or high needs children and you have a recipe for depression! Is medication the only answer, or do we need to look at how society can become more supportive of parenting? My midwife’s home visits after my daughter’s birth were lifelines of support and encouragement, but many women feel isolated with little support or don’t know where to find it.

Homeopathy can help. In cases of depression, it is important to look at the whole situation including social, hormonal or physical problems that may be contributing to the emotional state.  In Amanda’s case, she needed to work through some anger, but talking about it wasn’t enough. A homeopathic remedy called Staphysagria helped to resolve the ‘stuck’ emotional state and she is no longer depressed. Amanda now feels she has moved on from the trauma of the birth.

 Other commonly used homeopathic remedies include Sepia and Pulsatilla for hormonal imbalances causing mood swings, irritability, weepiness, depression and anxiety