What are the symptoms of postpartum depression?

Postpartum depression is a disease that women are particularly prone to after giving birth. Postpartum depression is a depressive phenomenon caused by physiological and psychological factors in women. The symptoms of postpartum depression are also very obvious. The patient's emotional changes are very obvious, and they are particularly prone to depression.

1. Mood changes

The most prominent symptom is persistent low mood, characterized by gloomy expression, listlessness, drowsiness, easy tearfulness and crying. I often use words like "melancholy", "desolate", "dull", "empty", "lonely", and "as if there is a wall between me and others" to describe my mood. Patients often feel depressed and gloomy, and often lose their temper over trivial matters. Over a long period of time, the mood is low most of the time. Even if the mood improves for a few days or 1 to 2 weeks, it will soon fall into depression again. However, the degree of depression is generally not severe and emotional reactions still exist.

2. Lower self-esteem

Excessive anxiety about the baby's health; blaming oneself and worrying about not being able to take good care of the baby; giving up on oneself and feeling guilty; being hostile to people around her and having an unharmonious relationship with family and husband.

3. Lack of confidence in life

Reluctance to feed the baby; feeling that life is meaningless; reduced initiative and impaired creative thinking; in severe cases, suicidal thoughts or behaviors that harm the baby.

4. Physical symptoms

Easy fatigue; difficulty falling asleep and waking up early; decreased appetite; decreased or even complete loss of libido.

5. In terms of cognition , postpartum depression can cause inattention, forgetfulness and lack of confidence. In more severe cases, there may also be reduced self-esteem, disappointment and a feeling of uselessness. In such cases, the patient should be asked whether he or she has attempted suicide.