How to prevent/deal with postnatal depression

During pregnancy, hormonal changes, other physical changes and ongoing stress from work / family / personal issues can affect your mood and make you feel overwhelmed. Reach out to let your family and friends know how you're feeling, what kind of support you need. Occasional bad days are normal, but if you find that you have poor mood lasting throughout the day for more than 2 weeks, it's best to speak to your doctor or at least seek support from a counsellor. statistically, being stressed during pregnancy is one of the risk factors for postnatal depression. But whether you will really have it or not depends on many other factors too. I would recommend dealing with what you're facing now, one step at a time.

People who had PND before are more likely to have it again, if their depression is contributed by genetic and biological factors, sensitivity to hormonal changes etc. Whether she will actually develop PND the second time depends on the amount of stress, amount of support, how she is coping at that time. If the first PND was treated and she recovered well, she is likely to have learned what to look out for, how to reach out for support, how to balance her own needs etc, so that's more important than whether she had PND before.

A lot of these recommendations are based on statistics, which means it is indicated by majority but cannot be applied to everyone. It also depends on how the research studies are being interpreted. Association does not mean cause. For example, if they found that many mothers who are breastfeeding do not have PND, we can't be sure whether the breastfeeding prevented the PND, or it's because those who did not have PND are less stressed therefore able to continue with breastfeeding. As a counsellor, I have seen mothers who get so stressed by breastfeeding it contributed to their depression. I have also seen mothers who had no problem breastfeeding, yet still get depression from other stressors. Make your breastfeeding decisions based on the benefits for baby's health and your bonding with baby, while BALANCING this with other needs eg. rest, mental health, feasibility etc. Whatever works for the whole family.

Very important! Strong support system means accurate understanding of the mother's needs, the possible mood changes to watch out for and how to respond. Good support can prevent the baby blues (first 1 - 2 weeks after delivery, subsides on its own) from becoming depression. Or even if depression sets in due to other factors, strong support can ensure good recovery. Ongoing communication to improve understanding of needs, actively reach out to people around you to maintain connections and your self identity beyond being a mom. Be specific in what kind of support you would like, and recognise that each person may be good at providing a different kind of support, for example - if I want emotional support I go to my best friend, if I want practical advice I go to my husband (note that some husbands are good at emotional support too, this just an example).

Hi Alice, have you had the chance to process your childbirth experience? especially if it still bothers you, might be good to talk about it with a counsellor. But if the experience is behind you already, then what's more important is your current situation - what are your stressors, support and coping strategies? Having space and time to process our emotions is important, though it can be challenging to do so when you are busy with baby. So it goes back to having enough support and learning to let go so you can take some time out for yourself to destress / connect with friends / seek professional support etc.

1. Recalling positive moments of the day, or for the week. Take time to savour positive moments as it happens, or when you recall, or look through baby's photos. Helps to neutralise those bad days / difficult moments you've had. 2. Going out for a walk. With or without baby. 3. Affirming and encouraging yourself, positive self-talk, celebrate small wins. These are useful skills to practise for long term resilience, and good to teach your children these skills for their mental health too! 4. Make a list of things that can give you a quick boost in your mood / provide comfort, have them ready at home (ok limit the junk food). Eg. playlist of fav songs, aromatherapy, soothing teas, nuts and berries (superfoods to boost energy and mood)...

Don't try to do everything on your own! It's important to work as a team with your partner / the rest of the family, because at 2 months postpartum, your baby still needs a lot of care. It helps if you have reliable childcare arrangement in place, and understanding colleagues/bosses who will not react negatively when you need to take urgent leave when baby falls sick. Other than these external support, you need to be kind to yourself and lower your expectations on how much/ how well you can do because this is a whole new phase you need time to adjust to.

Actually other than depression, some women may experience more anxiety symptoms - excessive worry about baby, extremely high expectations on self and others, feeling tense all the time unable to relax, hypervigilant looking out for baby's next needs.

it's usually a combination of genetic factors, life circumstances (eg. work and home situation, level of support), personality (eg. easily anxious, perfectionistic traits).