Postpartum Depression : Symptoms And Treatments

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70 to 80 percent of women who have given birth experience what is know as “Baby blues,” (Piotrowski & Benson, 2015). These are mild symptoms of depression and usually go away within two weeks after giving birth. However, the symptoms of unspecified depressive disorder with peripartum onset also known as postpartum depression (PPD) can be more intense and last significantly longer than the “baby blues.” According to the DSM-5 (American Psychiatric Association [APA] 2013), postpartum depression occurs during pregnancy or in the 4 weeks following delivery. Postpartum depression has symptoms that cause clinically significant distress or impairment in the new mothers life and can include the inability to take care of the newborn or herself. The…show more content…
She spends much of her free time with friends, family and giving back to the community. At the age 24, Sarah experienced a lot of life changes. She had been terminated from her job of 5 years because of a check that was written to the company and the funds were insufficient. This was against company policy and resulted in immediate termination. One month after losing her job her 3.5-year-old son, David, was diagnosed with a tumor on the brain stem and died just 1 week after the diagnosis. Sarah became pregnant approximately 2 months after her son’s passing however, she ignored the pregnancy and told no one that she might be pregnant until she was at approximately 26 weeks gestation. The relationship with her children’s father had a history of being very unstable and abusive. He had previously served time in jail for domestic violence in the relationship. Sarah lived with the father of her children in his mother’s basement. Sarah did have an apartment in Aurora with a lease in her name but her biological mother, sister, brother-in-law and 2 of their children lived in that apartment. Sarah’s father and stepmother and one other sister also live in Aurora. She had support from her family but her boyfriend did not allow her to spend much time with them. Foundations of Psychology Depressive Disorder with Peripartum Onset: Post Partum Depression In the DSM-5 (APA, 2013), postpartum depression is diagnosed as a depressive disorder due to another medical condition
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