wellness
Postpartum Depression During a Pandemic Supporting women during the vulnerable first weeks of parenthood By Malia Jacobson
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s many as 1 in 5 new mothers will experience postpartum depression (PPD), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During the current period of social distancing, the rates of PPD are likely higher, says PPD specialist and psychiatrist Tuesday Burns, M.D., medical director of THIRA Health, a mental health treatment center for women and girls in Bellevue. Postpartum depression has long been common in the United States, and even more so in the developing world, says Burns. But as the pandemic increases worry and removes social supports for new and expectant parents, women are more vulnerable to PPD, because stressful life events (the ongoing pandemic certainly qualifies as stressful) and scarcer social support are risk factors for depression. “Risk factors [for PPD] are being amplified by the pandemic,” says Burns. “We have limited social supports, isolation, as well as medical concerns like transmission of the virus and worries over whether new mothers will be separated from their newborn if they develop a fever during labor. Women may have to labor alone or without members of their birth team. Then, after the
birth, they have a tiny new vulnerable human to care for. These are all huge sources of stress for women.” “We don’t have current statistics on rates for PPD in 2020, but it’s very clear from the number of women reaching out for help right now that PPD rates are absolutely paralleling the current pandemic,” says Burns. “While some studies show the rates of PPD to be 1 in 5 women, I imagine those numbers during COVID, when we collect them, will be much higher.” Protecting against PPD With ramped-up risk factors, it’s more important than ever for new and expectant parents to be aware of the signs of PPD, says Burns. Symptoms include increased tearfulness, inability to feel joy, lack of interest in your baby or other relationships, and fears about hurting your child or yourself.
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