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Postpartum Depression And Hormones |
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Recent studies have provided the fact that Postpartum
Depression is caused by rapid increase and decrease of two hormones
namely estrogen and progesterone. These hormones increase rapidly during
pregnancy and they decrease rapidly to pre-pregnancy levels within the
first 24 hours of childbirth. These hormones also change rapidly during
the women’s menstrual period. These two hormones are steroid type
hormones that support reproduction. Postpartum Depression is a major
disturbing depression which should not go untreated or otherwise it may
result in severe consequences.
Hormonal changes
before the menstrual cycle, those that are sufficient enough to cause
premenstrual syndrome, and severe hormonal changes during the menstrual
period can lead a woman to react unpredictably to different situations.
The same can happen during postpartum depression. For instance, she may
begin to cry profusely or she may suddenly seem angered for no
sufficient reason.
Likewise, depression can result from rapid hormonal
changes. This can be due to the hormonal changes that have rapidly
occurred in her body and this can be postpartum depression; this is why
some researchers say that postpartum depression stems from hormonal
changes. The same symptoms of postpartum depression seem to occur during
menstrual periods in which the estrogen and progesterone rapidly
increase and decrease, albeit the symptoms produced by hormonal changes
during menstruation are far less severe.
When experiencing
postpartum depression, a woman normally shouldn’t spend a lot of time
secluded from others as this can intensify feelings associated with the
onset of depression. Further, if a woman suspects that she is
experiencing postpartum depression, she needs to seek outside assistance
as soon as possible: the sooner she gets help in managing the symptoms,
the better off she will be in terms of psychological health.
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