The prevalence of post natal depression amongst women who have delivered Introduction

Pregnancy and birth are major life occurrences that are largely positive experiences for most women. Nonetheless, a percentage of women experience mental issues in this course of time. Statistics give the suggestion that on average, between 10 percent and 15 percent of women report having experienced depression. In fact, roughly 16 percent report experiences of severe anxiety during the post natal period. Postnatal depression is functionally delineated as a significant depressive period taking place within the initial 12 months subsequent to giving birth. Mothers who have given birth and are facing life with postnatal depression epitomize different feelings like nervousness, solitude, loss of control and desperateness during a period when anticipations of happiness are expected. These mental issues can have adverse effects on women and their infants. The main objective of this literature review is to comprehensively discuss the prevalence of post natal depression amongst women who have given birth.

Prevalence of Post Natal Depression

Post natal depression is a kind of clinical depression that can have an adverse impact on women subsequent to giving birth. This is a common illness amongst women and is a significant public health issue owing to its prevalence. In accordance to Dinesh and Raghavan (2018), statistics give the estimations that in general 10 to 15 percent of women face post natal depression. In fact, based on the World Health Organization, depressive disorders are deemed to be the fourth leading cause of death in the world and are projected to rise to second place by 2020. The downside however, is that postpartum depression is one of the least diagnosed medical conditions owing to the lack of sufficient and extensive research studies on the matter.

Postnatal depression might at the outset appear to be the apprehension of adult mental health, and research substantiates that it can without a doubt have longstanding effects for the mother. Nonetheless, it brings into the frame the aspect of child psychotherapy for the reason that it also has an impact on the mother-infant relationship, adversely affecting the infant’s cognitive growth and emotional growth. Taking into consideration that postnatal depression emanates in a significant number of women, just about 75 000 cases on a yearly basis in the United Kingdom, it is correctly deliberated to be a significant public health problem. On the other hand, it is also a condition that is agreeable to preventive determinations which can make certain that a large number of infants begin life in less expressively incapacitating conditions. Postnatal depression is for that reason vigorously targeted by health professionals, and in addition to medication, a variety of treatment models is accessible for it (Likierman, 2003).

Maternal Depressive Symptoms

High psychiatric ill health, by and large postpartum depression in women, has been customarily stated in the research studies conducted. Nevertheless, a number of research studies undertaken in recent times demonstrated that high anxiety is progressively more dominant than depression either prior to or subsequent to childbirth in women. The studies also demonstrated that high anxiety and depression are more predominant in pregnancy compared to the post-partum period, not only in women but also in men. A research study conducted by Figueiredo and Conde (2011) sought to examine anxiety and depression in both men and women from early pregnancy to 3 months postpartum. The outcomes of the study indicated that the rates for depression were higher compared to the rates for high anxiety solely in women in the course of early pregnancy and the post-partum. However, this was not perceived in the course of the third trimester of pregnancy and also at childbirth. The results of the study also indicated that women experienced higher rates of depression and high-anxiety in comparison to men during childbirth, but not three months after pregnancy. Moreover, the outcomes of the study provided statistics that just about 16 percent of the parents included...

The inference of this is that it is imperative to lay emphasis on the mental health of both men and women early in pregnancy (Figueiredo and Conde, 2011).
Maternal depression is an acknowledged risk factor for inferior results for children. Imperatively, maternal post-natal depression has been demonstrated to have medium to large impacts on the interactions between the mother and the infant in the course of the first year of life (Mallan et al., 2015). Notably, mothers experiencing signs of depression are inclined to be less volatile or receptive to their infant and demonstrate impaired performance in a range of caregiving activities. As a result, diminished maternal receptiveness is a prospective intermediary of the established correlations between maternal post-natal depression and inferior child outcomes. The research study by Mallan et al. (2015) provides proof for the suggested correlation between maternal post-natal depressive indications and lower receptiveness in child feeding. These results put forward that the delivery of support to mothers going through some levels of depressive symptomatology in the initial post-natal timeline might enhance receptiveness in the child feeding relationship.

Risk Factors Associated with Depression and Anxiety during Pregnancy

A study conducted by Denis, Michaux and Callahan (2012) purposed to examine depressive and anxious symptoms while investigating the effect of different factors such as social support, self-esteem, and coping mechanisms on these symptoms in women who are in the hospital owing to high risk pregnancies. With respect to high-risk pregnancy, low self-esteem appears to exacerbate anxious and depressive symptoms. Furthermore, preceding research studies undertaken demonstrate that that the mother–child attachment process can be impacted and possibly deteriorated by lengthier hospitalization. Bearing in mind the prospective adverse effect, a number of factors seem to play a protective role and these comprise of perceived social support and coping strategies. Perceived social support by hospitalized women seems to reduce stress especially when it comes from close family members. Hospitalized pregnant women can have the sense of needing to be taken care of, and are fairly delicate to the quality of the association they can have with medical personnel. The outcomes of the study accentuate the significance of rendering suitable mental support for women with high-risk pregnancies to evade depressive illness and any prospective adverse effects on the perinatal period.

Moraitou et al. (2011) examine the correlation between positive emotions to postpartum depression. In particular, positive emotions have been associated with the creation and development of handling means and resilience for mental health across different major life events. More often than not, childbirth is an occurrence that provokes positive emotions in a woman, and it might be that such emotions have a restraining result on the inception of post natal depressive symptoms. The results of the study indicated that there is a negative correlation between the experience of positive emotion intensity and post natal depressive symptomatology. Different aspects like the level of education attained, whether the birth was initially planned or not together with ecological and partner support were established to relate substantially to the manifestation of positive emotions. The study demonstrated that women who had a planned

pregnancy contrasted with those that were surprising, experience a superior magnitude of positive emotions both before and after giving birth. Employed women faced considerably more positive emotions for the period of pregnancy compared to women who were unemployed, or students. Possibly, an expert life, whether in the public or private sector contributes to an overall sense of self-efficacy, and in order gives rise to general life satisfaction and the recurrent experience of positive emotions consequently (Moraitou et al.,…