Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.
Psalm:116:7
NB: I am not writing about this topic because motherhood is “sharking” me although it’s allowed.😀😃
Instead, there are information I wished I had before embarking on this journey. I researched and asked questions enough but some things were yet hidden. I wish to share on these few things in no particular order of importance. Even if I’m only able to help one person, then I’d feel glad🤓.
Recently, I’ve heard and read about post-partum depression. It’s recently a topic of discourse in public health and I get scared when people share their experiences.
Even though I don’t have such experience, I remembered feeling really anxious when I had my first baby. The feelings of inadequacy threatened until I constantly turned my daughter back to God on the altar of sacrifice as Abraham did insisting in the place of prayers that the child is God’s and not mine.
So, I have thought deeply about it and feel I should lend a voice on how post-partum depression can be avoided totally and/or managed.
What is post-partum depression? It refers to depression that occurs after childbirth. It is an experience that some women have just after delivering their baby(ies).
What causes post-partum depression? The major cause is attributed to the stress that comes with the new routine, internal and external bodily changes and some social factors.
Symptoms of post-partum Depression
The usual symptoms of depression are what we see here only that the experiences are affiliated to the birth process. They include:
✅Anger, rage, or irritability
✅Difficulty sleeping – even when exhausted
✅Feeling “flat” – no strong feelings of either happiness or sadness
Unexplained crying
✅Extreme worrying or anxiousness
✅Intrusive thoughts of serious harm or death coming to the baby
✅Not feeling connected or loving toward the baby
✅A general feeling of “this isn’t what I expected it to be”
Etc…
It is a long read but truly worth your time😚 so please read carefully…
Pregnancy is a truly transformation process. You see, if you are a man, you may never understand the process that goes on in the body of a pregnant woman.
Let me shock you, when you see a pregnant woman, all you see is an oval shaped ball sitting on her abdomen… But meehhhnnn If you know the “rumbling in my Tommy going umbandadabum” going on inside there😃🤪… The tiny creature often kicks like s/he will come out through the kicks😃😁😀 and then the bloating, indigestion, heart burns, etc
Recently, there is this trend: “pregnancy humbled me challenge” and I can truly say that Pregnancy is really humbling. From the nausea to the sickening feelings to the change in appetite to the strange craves to the change in emotions to the sudden blow up of the body to the insomnia to the body aches to the fear of the unknown to the …blablabla😌… Women, you rock!💪
Now let me tell you, the pregnant woman is just counting days and then imagine that after the delivery of the baby and you felt, what a relief but you suddenly move to the phase my Barrister-friend @Olunike Mi calls fourth trimester😃… post-partum cramps, irregular sleep, sore nipples, sore V-region😃😁… My dear, the stress could be much.
But can depression after delivery be avoided?
YES! And this is my suggestion:
It is the duty of friends and family to rally round the new mother after birth.
As the spouse, family members, in-laws or friend of the new Mum, you have important roles to play:
💧Be available to be a true support system. Let your words and actions show that you are there to lend a shoulder to the new Mum.
💧Volunteer to help with house chores, laundry, going to the market, cleaning the house, etc.
💧 Deliberately visit to help with the baby so that the new Mum can catch some rest. Don’t visit to start gisting except the new Mum wants to gist. Let her know it’s okay to rest while you are around.
💧Ask the new Mum for what she needs help with. Sometimes, we offer assistance on what’s not a prior need for the new Mum.
💧Be empathic. Don’t go ahead body shaming or gender-shaming the new Mum. Show some understanding.
💧Avoid the critical attitude of sizing up the mother’s mother-ing ability; let ur words be kind and please keep ur unsolicited advises too. Statements like, “is this how to carry a baby? Is this how much you sleep? Etc” could dampen the emotion of a new Mum.
💧Give to the new Mum. Spare your time, money, gifts whatever you can afford to relieve the new Mum.
💧 Constantly assure the new Mum that with God’s help, she is adequate to care for the new born.
💧 Pray for the new Mum. Yes. Pray for her that God will guide her through. In fact, in your prayers, God gets to guide u on what to do for her.
💧Put a call through and send a text to check on the new Mum. It goes a long way
…all these mean a lot to the well-being of the new Mum.
I started with this topic because I believe I could have ran into depression also but one thing I’m sure prevented it is that God always give me a strong support system in family and friends for which I’m eternally grateful.
However, I also realize that many people don’t even know that they can contribute to post-partum depression for a new Mum through their deeds and words.
Have you experienced post-partum depression before? How did you get through? I long to hear/read from you💪🏽
securing_the_future
parenting with Christ
motherhood
Photo credit: Google
You must be logged in to post a comment.