Many people see postpartum depression as a condition that affects just the new mother. This, however, is not the case. The entire family faces relationship issues that affect family dynamics considerably. Depressed moms who do not seek help frequently put their babies in danger of experiencing serious or fatal setbacks in growth and development.
The medical term for this complex problem is nonorganic failure to thrive. Nonorganic means that no physical cause for the baby’s delays exists. As a result of the mom’s postpartum depression, she frequently fails to care for the baby’s physical and emotional needs. Although the infant may cry for food at first, he or she often gives up and stops interacting with other people. This condition can result in malnutrition, starvation, and even death.
Doctors use developmental charts to track a baby’s physical growth with respect to height, weight, and head size. If an infant is in good health at birth, his or her size will be within the normal values on these charts. If the infant starts to have serious developmental delays, this will be apparent by comparing his or her progress against normal growth charts. If the baby’s progress is below the fifth percentile, doctors get worried.
Other signs often appear before the baby’s growth delays reach this crisis stage. Most babies who grow at a normal rate are curious about their environment. In contrast, babies who fail to thrive show little or no interest in their surroundings. These babies do not usually make sounds or words; they have stopped trying to relate with their caretakers.
How serious is failure to thrive? If not treated properly, the baby can starve to death. Although the infant may get just enough nutrition to stay alive, his or her heart, bone, and brain do grow enough. Additionally, even if they are treated, these children never “catch up” completely. They frequently acquire relationship problems or eating conditions, even after they begin to have their needs met.
Babies who failure to thrive typically become critically ill from starvation. They are often hospitalized for several weeks at a time. Sometimes, they get so weak that taking a bottle is exhausting. They get feedings through a tube inserted in the stomach, or even in a vein to get nutrition!
The saddest aspect of failure to thrive is that it can be easily prevented. If moms with postpartum depression identify this depression when it begins, they can get help and never expose their helpless infants to these terrible complications. Indeed, studies have demonstrated that nine-tenths of the women suffering from depression who seek help will experience significant improvement!
A number of approaches are useful in treating postpartum depression. Many doctors use medicines like antidepressants. These medicines are costly. Nursing mothers should also avoid them. Furthermore, antidepressants can cause thoughts of suicide; these medicines must be used with extreme caution.
Usually, doctors recommend psychotherapy instead of or along with medicines. Psychotherapy, however, can be expensive. Additionally, it often requires a lot of extra time, and several weeks may go by before this therapy is successful. Regrettably, if the woman’s depression is severe, this may be too long for her baby. If the baby begins to experience delayed growth, additional treatment may be required.
Luckily, other non-medicinal therapy approaches can be used. Two revolutionary, beneficial methods that typically offer results much faster than psychotherapy, and are much less dangerous than drugs, are Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP and hypnotherapy for depression. NLP and hypnosis typically start to work after even a single treatment. In addition, they are much less expensive than other methods.
Moms who suspect they have postpartum depression must seek help immediately so that their babies are not at risk for critical growth delays. The severity of the effects on the infant mandates that any approach work quickly, and have a high rate of effectiveness. NLP and hypnosis for depression are inexpensive, begin to work almost immediately, and are highly effective. This makes these two treatments ideal for treating postpartum depression.
Summary: Postpartum depression is depression that occurs after childbirth. These new mothers are not able to give their babies the caring they need to live and thrive. This results in failure to thrive, a serious, potentially deadly condition, affecting the infant. Moms who suspect that they might have postpartum depression should seek help as soon as possible. Hypnosis and NLP for depression are inexpensive and have demonstrated amazing effectiveness.
Alan B. Densky, CH specializes in stress and depression related symptoms as an NGH certified hypnotist. He’s helped thousands of clients since 1978. He supplies hypnosis therapy for depression CDs. Visit his Neuro-VISION self hypnosis site for the hypnosis article library, or watch his free videos on hypnosis.
- Alan Densky