Johannesburg - Lebogang Xolo was anxious. She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t sleep and every thought was dark.
Bonita Conradie couldn’t bath herself, couldn’t function at work and had “nasty” thoughts of taking her life and that of her son.
Both women had recently given birth and suffered from postnatal depression (PND) and didn’t realise it until they suffered emotional breakdowns.
Postnatal depression is, according to the Postnatal Depression Support Association, the most common complication of the period following childbirth.
It can be caused by hormonal changes, previous physiological stressors, societal pressure and a change in expectation or hope, among others.
February is Pregnancy Awareness Month and both women wanted to raise awareness of the depression that affects 30 percent of mothers.
Xolo, 32, was 25 when she had her first child, Palesa.
Despite going through a separation at the time and her daughter being just 3 months old, she moved from Rustenburg to Joburg after getting a new job.
A few years later, she met her husband, and within two years, the couple started trying for a baby. “We tried an intrauterine insemination but then had an ectopic pregnancy and lost the baby,” Xolo said.
She continued: “There were definitely signs… after losing the baby, I was emotionally scarred and scared. I should’ve taken a break to work through my feelings and heal.”
But soon she fell pregnant with her son, Oluthando. He was born on June 30, 2011, a few weeks premature.
“When he was born, he was blue… his lungs were underdeveloped and was rushed to ICU. For me, that was trigger number one,” she said.
Despite having a complicated birth, Xolo went into “supermom” mode, but for all her bravado, she couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed when he was discharged after 10 days.
Xolo would want to feed her son every two hours, constantly checked on him and because of her anxiety, she couldn’t sleep.
Conradie, 40, said her teenage weight issues could have propelled her depression in later life, but it was after her son was born with a deformity that affected the left side of his face, and without any previous indication of it in her prenatal tests, that shocked her and led to the depression.
Conradie was admitted to a clinic in Cape Town, where she was put on medication and therapy, while Xolo’s journey towards recovery led her to a year of therapy and medication, and starting her own blog (http://oluthando.blogspot.com/).
Psychologist Aliza Bilman said generally the best form of treatment was medication and psychotherapy, but it was important for doctors to know each woman’s symptoms and history to treat them properly.
“At first it was hard, I used to Google how long it would take until I was okay. But I realised there was no formula.,” Xolo said.
Through her search for other women who went through PND, Xolo said she only found three black women online and in books who admitted to suffering from it.
Social worker Debbie Levine said: “I think across the board (white and black), women generally don’t want to talk about it because there’s still a stigma attached, but it can be treated and spouses I’ve seen are understanding and supportive once they know what PND is.”
Xolo said she was lucky her husband was supportive and held her hand throughout.
“I feel like it made me a better person… In the darkest days, time seemed to move so slow, and I’d pray and say: ‘God, if you get me through this I’ll do something for the better,’ which is why I started the blog.
“Now I feel more like myself, I feel confident as a mother and I feel like I can deal with anything,” she said. - The Star
Who does it affect?
Any woman who has given birth to a child recently, regardless of whether the infant is ill or healthy. It also does not matter whether it is her first or tenth child. It can also affect a woman who has experienced the death of a baby.
What is postnatal depression?
Postnatal or post-partum depression is the most common complication in the period following childbirth. It is a grossly neglected condition because there are many doctors and healthcare professionals who don’t recognise it unless it’s severe. It occurs primarily in the first 10 weeks after the birth of the infant. It affects 11 percent of women and can last up to a year.
Causes
* Previous depressive illness or psychiatric disorders
* Alcohol and drug problems
* Unwanted pregnancies or “emotionally charged” pregnancies, eg post-infertility pregnancies
* Complicated pregnancies
* Major stressful life events, eg bereavement, miscarriage, relocation, redundancy
* Difficult socio-economic factors and stresses
* Lack of emotional support or abuse, especially from family and partner
Symptoms
* Feeling sad; suicidal thinking
* Feeling overwhelmed with fatigue
* Feeling hopeless and guilty
* Feeling lonely and abandoned
* Feeling no love for the baby
* Forgetfulness, indecisiveness
* Feeling out of control and angry mostof the time
* Fighting with people, irritable and frustrated
* Fear that she might harm herself, the baby or others
* Panic attacks, feeling panicky
l Frightening thoughts; that she/the baby/her partner is not safe
l Headaches, nausea, vomiting, other unusual physical symptoms
Treatment
* Medication
* Psychotherapy: individual or group support
Types of postnatal depression
“THE BLUES”
Up to 80 percent of new mothers have “the blues” shortly after birth. For a few days you may feel anxious, tearful, tired and irritable. This is normal and should clear up in about two weeks. If you are so miserable that you can’t care for your child or yourself, have thoughts of hurting either yourself or the baby or have blues lasting more than two weeks, you probably have postnatal depression and should seek help as soon as possible.
POSTNATAL PSYCHOSIS
At the other end of the spectrum, the “deepest blue”, is a rare and very serious disorder called postnatal psychosis, which affects one or two mothers per thousand. Your thinking becomes seriously disturbed, and you need immediate hospitalisation and treatment because you may be a danger to yourself and those around you.
POSTNATAL DEPRESSION, ANXIETY
Between 10 and 30 percent of all mothers, in all circumstances, suffer from this middle-range depression. PND may develop slowly any time during the first year of the baby’s life. Untreated, it may continue as a chronic low-grade depression, becoming more acute with subsequent births. Every mother is different, and may have different combinations of symptoms.
Source: www.pndsa.co.za