A consideration of depression following child birth.
Though this may come as a surprise to some, depression in the United States is a considerable problem. If one needs convincing of this, all that's required is to check the numbers. According to statistics, roughly twenty percent of people in the United States are depressed. Convert that twenty percent into an actual number, and the result is tens of millions of depressed people. If that weren't bad enough, most depressed people in the US don't get treatment for their depression. The end result is widespread suffering, and tremendous lost productivity.
During considerations of dealing with depression, it makes sense to consider whether certain segments of society are more prone to depression than others. It was long believed that women were most prone to depression, but in recent times this thinking has been reconsidered. The fact of the matter is, not only do men get depression but men are more likely to commit suicide because of depression than women are. Looking at depression as purely a gender issue then is not only inaccurate but may also lead to dire consequences in outreach efforts.
It's important then to be clear that men can and do get depressed, and that treatment for depressed men is available. The truth of the matter is however that women most often report feelings of depression, and that women who've recently given birth may be particularly prone to depressed feelings. Depression in women after childbirth is common enough that it has its own terminology: depression following childbirth is typically known as postpartum depression, but can be referred to as perinatal depression as well.
Postpartum depression is not a particularly complicated condition: it's a case of depression in a woman who's recently given birth. The uncertainty with postpartum depression is why it occurs in the first place. Carrying a child over the course of nine months is a terrific responsibility, and that responsibility in itself can lead to stress and feelings of depression. A woman who feels a lack of support following childbirth can also understandably become depressed. There's some thinking that postpartum depression may be related to hormonal balance: a woman's hormonal makeup changes greatly between the time a woman is pregnant, and twenty-four hours after a woman's given birth. It would be surprising if this sort of hormonal swing didn't have at least some impact on mood.
While it's certainly true that not every woman who gives birth becomes depressed afterward, it happens often enough that it's something to be aware of. The positive with respect to postpartum depression is that it usually clears without intervention; and in the event it doesn't clear without intervention, effective treatments are there to be had.
