Pros And Cons Of Defectants And Antidepressants

Postpartum depression can have serious consequences for the health of both mother and child. Indeed, a recent study of 10, 000 postpartum women found 19.3% of women with postpartum depression had considered hurting themselves (5). In the United Kingdom suicide is the leading cause of maternal death in the postpartum period (6). Even in less severe cases, postpartum depression may compromise caregiving practices (e.g., are less likely to use car seats, breastfeed, or ensure that their child receives up to date vaccinations); (7;8) and maternal-infant bonding (e.g., are less responsive to their infants, engage in less face-to-face interactive play and participate in fewer enrichment activities); (7;9;10). These factors may be partly responsible for delayed cognitive, intellectual, social, and emotional development of the child (11-15). Given the negative consequences of postpartum depression, prevention and treatment is imperative.

Depression is something that is only temporary and something that most new mothers go through, but Andrea had a long history of depression and this is also something that runs in her family come to find out. Andrea was prescribed with Zoloft, but refused to take it because she had preferred to breast-feed her youngest. “The ailing mother was discharged and another psychiatrist switched her to Zyprexa, an antipsychotic drug for bipolar disorders and schizophrenia. Andrea flushed the pills down the toilet. Then she got worse. To this point, she'd experienced several

Segre, A. R. (n.d.). Perinatal Depression: A Review of U.S. Legislation and Law. Retrieved from www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3725295/

Stimulants are considered as a drug and are commonly used today. The question is will use of stimulants while pregnant affect the infant. A pregnant woman can be prescribed stimulants (Antidepressants) because of them being depressed and stressed out about everything that is occurring in their life while pregnant, but what many people do not see is it going to affect the infant long-term. Most mothers want what is best for their child and they want to make sure that their child is going to have a healthy life as much as possible. Is it safe to take the antidepressants while pregnant and will there be any risk factors? There is mainly a biological and environmental that reflect a child’s senses and development.

Postpartum depression, which is the most prevalent of all maternal depressive disorders, is said to be the hidden epidemic of the 21st century. (1) Despite its high prevalence rate of 10-15% and increased incidence, postpartum depression often goes undetected, and thus untreated. (2) Nearly 50% of postpartum depression cases are untreated. As a result, these cases are put at a high risk of being exposed to the severe and progressive nature of their depressive disorder. (3) In other words, the health conditions of untreated postpartum depression cases worsen and progress to one of their utmost stages, and they are: postpartum obsessive compulsive disorder, postpartum panic disorder, postpartum post traumatic stress, and postpartum psychosis.

The presence of risk factors does not guarantee that a woman will experience PPD, but it may indicate that the health care provider should pay a little more attention to possible signs and symptoms of depression. Known risk factors include depression or other mental illness prior to, and during, pregnancy, a family history of depression or other mental health disorders, a history of substance abuse, the age of the mother, financial concerns, lack of a support system, and being a single parent (Camp, 2013). In the presence of risk factors it is important for the health care provider to educate the woman on ways to

Thus far, I have learned about the pros and cons to using medication in treatment with clients. In addition, I have seen first hand the benefits of implementing medications in client’s treatment plan. From my understanding, Depression is one of the most prevalent illnesses in the world. Because of this fact it is important that we understand and explore all the implications surrounding the use and efficacy for treatment. In order to treat our clients with the best care possible, we as therapist should be educated on the types of medications for depression, the impact they have on the body, and their efficacy of improving symptoms and overall functioning. In this paper I will explore three articles about antidepressants and their efficacy for treating clients with depression. In addition, I will provide my overall reaction to the studies and the material provided for the efficacy of antidepressants for treating depression.

Despite the physical changes that a woman is to expect during her pregnancy, a major concern that requires attention is a period of expected feelings of depression that a woman may encounter known as baby blues. Although normal, and expected baby blues can lead into post partum depression that involves a myriad of emotions and mood swings. If not addressed postpartum depression can lead to a more severe form of baby blues known in the clinical world as postpartum non-psychotic depression that requires professional intervention. The therapeutic goal during this time is to prevent the new mother from committing suicide where she poses a danger to both herself and her newborn.

The Center for Disease Control estimates that 1 in 20 people suffer from depression (2014). Although widely recognized and somewhat easy to diagnose, depression is an ignored and almost hidden, disease. In women, the statistics are especially grim for those who are pregnant or were recently pregnant. A great number of women suffer from postpartum depression; an illness which is often overlooked, misdiagnosed and untreated. Postpartum depression (PPD) has been defined as an emotional disorder that occurs in an estimated 10-15% of all women after childbirth (Liberto, 2010). Postpartum depression not only impacts the mother, but can cause long-term psychological challenges for the baby and create emotional turmoil for all family members.

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a major event occurring in eight to fifteen percent of the woman population after delivering their child (Glavin, Smith, Sørum & Ellefsen, 2010). The symptoms and causes of PPD are similar to depression symptoms in other periods of life (Glavin et al., 2010). These symptoms may include feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, loss of interest in daily activities, sleep changes, anger or irritability, loss of energy, self-loathing, reckless behavior and concentration problems. These symptoms may lead to other factors that are detrimental to the child bearing and rearing family.

Many mothers wonder whether it is safe to take antidepressants while they are breastfeeding. The best way for you to determine whether it is safe for you to continue taking antidepressants while you are nursing is to consult with your physician. Below is a list of things that have to be considered when determining whether it is safe for you to continue to take antidepressants while breastfeeding:

(Stewart, D.E., Robertson, E., Dennis, G.L., Grace, S.L. & Wallington, T. 2003) If we can prevent perinatal to avoid adverse effects on both the mother and child, there is evidence that preventive intentions are efficacious for perinatal depression. The research

An example could be, if the mother or father is showing signs of depression, they may neglect to take proper care for the child. Maybe because they are depressed, they may not focus all their time into the child, rather focusing on their depression. A woman who avoids taking antidepressants during her pregnancy to try and ensure her baby is born without defects could still have a child with some sort of birth defect, other things can cause birth defects, such as current or prior drug use illegal or prescribed, or in other cases that child is just genetically predisposed to it. Birth defects can happen due to genes malfunctioning or even when there are problems with a chromosome (Berk, 2018). So, it is impossible to say that a pregnant mother can avoid birth defects by not taking antidepressants. This idea is further reinforced by Jennita Reefhuis in her abstract video when she cautions us that antidepressants are not the only thing that can cause birth defects, other possibilities such as pre-existing conditions in the mother who takes antidepressants or other unknown influences may have a large impact on birth defects as well (Reefhuis,

According to Murray & McKinney (2014) there is a combination of 3 combined therapies to treat PPD. With psychotherapy, social support, and medication. Murray & McKinney (2014) also believes that if psychotherapy is not effective on its own, it can be combined with medication. High consideration must be taken when prescribing medications to women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. According to Murray & McKinney (2014) a discontinuance in medication for depression during pregnancy are more likely to have a relapse during pregnancy or postpartum. In the evidence by Murray & McKinney (2014) they state that one source found peer support to be an effective prevention strategy against PPD, and one source did not find peer support to be an effective

A mother who struggles with depression post-partum is likely to expose her baby to more harmful effects. Gerhardt (2015) states that the baby of a depressed mother can find it difficult to cope with or get over stress, or they may be more fearful (p. 21). These babies also may respond to others with depression themselves, as their mother may be neglectful in their care (Gerhardt, 2015, p. 36). One of the reasons for this is because of their cortisol levels, which can fluctuate situationally. However, in infants this can affect their development (Gerhardt, 2015, p. 83) as well as their immune system (Gerhardt, 2015, p. 118), and is evidence that a mother with depression can have a significant impact on her child well beyond when the depression occurs. Additionally, Gerhardt (2015) notes that, “When they grow up, these babies of depressed mothers are highly at risk of succumbing to depression themselves.” (p.