Postpartum Depression: Anger May Be One Of The Major Symptoms In Women, Says Study

Postpartum depression affects about 13 per cent of women and it may affect them within one year of childbirth. Awareness has increased these days but it still remains undiagnosed or untreated for most women, especially in rural India. According to a study, postpartum depression impacts 65 per cent of mothers of Asian countries. It could impact women who have had a healthy baby or had a miscarriage or a still birth. Despite people being aware of the condition, many people may not be aware of the exact signs and symptoms of postpartum depression. The general understanding may be that the woman may feel sad, lonely, may cry for no reason or have mood swings but did you know that anger is also one major symptom that women may be dealing with? At first, the symptoms may feel like 'blues' but, they may turn intense and could hinder proper child care too. This is why diagnosis, care and treatment is essential for mothers too. Some Women Might Experience 'Anger' More Than Other Symptoms According to a research published in the Journal Birth, experts say that women should be screened for all kinds of symptoms including anger. In previously conducted researches, anger had been linked to postpartum mood problems but the research on this has however been limited. But, according to experts, anger is also an emotion and during the postpartum phase, if women feel sad or anxious, they may also feel angry. So, it is odd that this one emotion is excluded from research altogether. Another research conducted by the University of Britsh Columbia, anger was found to be a common feature of postpartum mood problems. About The Study Research presents ample of evidence on the link between anger and postpartum depression. It states that, the intensity and length of depression could be made worse by both anger and being depressed. This would not only impact the mother, but the child, their family and marital relationship. According to the research published in Birth, women experienced anger when they felt powerless or when there expectation of motherhood did not match reality, when they did not receive enough support during the postpartum period. All of these are postpartum symptoms as well, which transitioned into the symptom of anger. This clearly suggests that anger is a symptom of postpartum depression in its own. Experts suggest, anger has gone unrecognized as a postpartum depression symptom because many cultures hold the feeling or expression of anger to be impolite or unflattering, especially for women.