In Babies and more We have talked on various occasions about the mental health of mothers, as well as the disorders that may occur during and after pregnancy. One of them is postpartum depression, a mental disorder that affects many women, including celebrities such as singer Adele and model Chrissy Teigen.
Now, the singer again talks about the mental health of mothers, but this time, Adele does it to support her best friend, who suffers from postpartum psychosis, a more serious and complicated form of depression.
With a simple post on her Instagram account, Adele has shared a photo with Laura, her best friend and the mother of her six-month-old godson. But more than sharing a cheerful photo of two good friends, the singer has done it to show support to Laura, and at the same time, raise awareness about postpartum psychosis.
This is my best friend. We have been friends for more of our lives than we havent. She had my beautiful godson 6 months ago and it was the biggest challenge of her life in more ways than one. She has written the most intimate, witty, heartbreaking and articulate piece about her experience of becoming a new mum and being diagnosed with postpartum psychosis. Mamas talk about how youre feeling because in some cases it could save yours or someone elses life x Link in my bio to Lauras story.
In the publication, the singer mentions a writing written by her friend, in which Share your experience as a recent mother and be diagnosed with postpartum psychosis and invites other mothers to talk about how they feel, because he says "it could save his life or someone else's." We tell you about this disorder.
Postpartum psychosis
There are three types of depression that can occur after having a baby: mild postpartum depression, major postpartum depression (which is what we usually talk about, also known only as postpartum depression) and postpartum psychosis. Of all, Postpartum psychosis is the most serious and is considered a medical emergency.
In addition to the symptoms of postpartum depression that we have commented on previous occasions, postpartum psychosis causes those who suffer from it to also present:
- Hallucinations
- Attempts to hurt yourself or the baby.
- Feelings or feeling of "being crazy."
- States of confusion
- Fear or fears that do not disappear.
- Extreme changes in mood.
- Loss of contact with reality.
Postpartum psychosis affects one in 1,000 women, and its symptoms may appear in the first hours or within the first four weeks after giving birth. Occasionally, urgent hospitalization is necessary.
The exact cause of postpartum psychosis is unknown, as there are several reasons why it may appear. On the one hand, it is believed that it may be due to genetic and biological factors that may influence the predisposition to suffer from it, while on the other, it has been found that the majority of cases have been in women who had a psychiatric history.
Laura's experience
As I said at the beginning, Adele shared the link to an article that Laura wrote, telling her experience with this dangerous disorder. In her case, there was no history of mental illness and she says that her pregnancy had been like a dream. She felt calm and excited for what was to come. But where there were problems, it was at the time of delivery:
My birth was horrendous. I will not inquire much about him, but basically I tried to give birth in every possible way, it was exactly the opposite of what I had imagined. It was scary and dangerous, and we thought one of us wouldn't make it. I ended up having an emergency caesarean section and then I discovered that my son was born with very low weight because although I had gone through two weeks of the probable date of delivery, my placenta had failed and he was starving inside me.
Laura comments that Your doctor thinks that this difficult and painful experience of having your baby was what caused your postpartum psychosis.. After the birth of their baby, they both had to stay in the hospital for five days, while she nursed her baby 24 hours a day. And although I was grateful to be able to start breastfeeding, I didn't get any rest, so I longed to go home.
But the moment that happened, far from feeling relieved to go home, Laura was invaded by a huge wave of negative feelings, especially fear and terror.
I felt that I was dying. My breathing was short and closed, my heart was beating out of my chest and my stomach was churning. I told my husband Hugo "something is not right with me, I don't know what it is but I'm not well". I refused to think I had postpartum depression because I didn't feel depressed. I could still appreciate the sheet of fresh white snow outside, the way it silenced the world, and I could still get excited about eating. Then I realized that I didn't know anything about depression because, how the hell does depression feel? How do you catch and tag? How do you measure or understand something that is so intangible?
But her feelings of fear and denial made her continue without asking for help, even though she was struggling. He thought that over time that feeling would disappear but it was not so. He continued advancing to the point where she ignored herself and felt like an intruder in her own life. He was hiding from his own family and began to have suicidal thoughts.
"I went from wanting to do everything for my son, to completely ignore his crying", says Laura."I began to have severe anxiety attacks believing that I was having a heart attack, that my wound would open in the middle of the night, that my baby was going to die because I was very small, and if I didn't feed him 24/7 it would be all my fault . That he was a terrible person and a horrible mother ".
Although her family tried to encourage her, none of that managed to calm her or improve her situation. Everything continued to progress to the point where it was both her fear, her confusion and her terror that something happened to her and her son, that she stopped trusting everyone, including her husband Hugo, whom she accused of kidnapping her baby. And then they had to do an intervention, which she describes as the worst night of her life.
Laura was hospitalized for two weeks, feeling even more lost and her maternal instinct disappearing completely. It seemed that I had forgotten who I was and could only think that I was a bad person, who was being punished for something she had done. Although the doctor told him that he could recover, his mind told him that he would not, that she could not. But he did it.
Now with the support of my family, an amazing psychiatrist, medications (which I really hated to think about taking, but now I recognize that they are necessary for me and I thank whoever invented them) and psychotherapy, I am relieved and I continue to recover more and More every day. I am happy, safe and strong. I am myself
Having lived this experience, Laura has decided that talking about her will not only make her stronger, but that she can help someone who is also going through the same. Postpartum psychosis is something real and there is no reason to be ashamed if you suffer from any type of depression after having a baby. Motherhood is not rosy and becoming a mother is something that brings a million changes to the lives of women,
The mental health of mothers must continue to be a matter of importance and which is discussed, I do not know that it is hidden, to break with that stigma and so that women who suffer depression or postpartum psychosis, can feel confident to ask for help, instead of trying to hide it.
Photos | Pexels
Via | BBC
In Babies and more | An extreme case of postpartum depression: the puerperal psychosis, "I am one in five", the movement that seeks to raise awareness about the mental health of mothers
