How to Fight Post Partum Depression

By PavithraRao - Updated: July 20, 2020

“Being a mom can be tough, but always remember in the eyes of your child, no one does it better than you”.

Nobody wants to talk about postpartum depression. It usually starts once you are back from the hospital. It starts when you are alone. You feel unwanted and everything seems like it’s sinking.

This is the most painful phase after delivery. We need moral support. We want to know people love us for the way we are. Probably that is the reason we, in India, traditionally practice staying at our mom’s place after delivery. A mom’s love for her child is unconditional. A woman will understand the needs of a woman better, a mom will understand her daughter better. It is always important for someone to stay with her always no matter how capable she is.

This again happened to me during both my pregnancies but it takes courage to tell people about it. Due to the sudden drop in the hormones, most women will undergo postpartum depression (PPD) , but the severity differs. During my first pregnancy I did face very mild PPD but in my second pregnancy with the baby being preterm, leaving my elder one, I think I failed miserably as a mom, a wife, and a daughter. I used to be cheerful when people were around me, but once they weren’t, I used to just cry for no reason. It was one of the toughest phases after delivery. That is when my sister pitched in for moral support, calling me every day from US and talking to me. My husband started spending more time with us, explained the situation to my mother and made sure that someone would always be around me. He also suggested me talking to my doctor so that she can prescribe some hormonal tablets to boost my spirits.

The two most important persons who were always there with me was my elder son, Aadhrith, and my niece, Dhrithi. To overcome my PPD I started spending more time with them, playing, reading out stories for them, reciting rhymes, resolving their fights and of course looking after my younger one.

It is definitely not wrong to talk about it and there is no shame in accepting it if you are suffering from PPD. In this era, we should talk about it. There are many cases where severe PPD has led to harming the baby or suicidal actions. Let us not leave any new mom unattended. Let us promise to support each other during this tough phase of our life. Let us not give up. Let’s fight against post-partum depression.

Here are a few ways in which we can fight PPD.

Spend quality time with family members and never be alone. Make sure you are with someone always.
Try to engage yourself with hobbies. I had infact ordered a 1000 page archies comic, which I haven’t finished yet.
Eat healthy nutritious food, as it gives us all the nutrients to keep your mind and body healthy.
Start exercising. You will feel good if you look good.
Seek help. There are many organizations which help women recover from PPD.
Find time to talk about your emotions.

Let us take a pledge to talk about PPD and not end up hurting ourselves. Nobody can replace us or mimic the duty, love and affection of a mother, so we have to fight for us and for our children.

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